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ISRA FACTSHEETS

NEW ZEALAND & PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

NEW ZEALAND & PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION

Puysegur ISRA

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Puysegur ISRA

Puysegur

Summary

Puysegur is located on the southern part of New Zealand’s South Island. The area is characterised by a steep slope, multiple submarine canyons and seamounts with muddy substrates, and patches of sandstone and shell mixtures. The area overlaps with the Fiordland – West Coast South Island (South) (offshore) and the Rakiura (offshore) Key Biodiversity Areas. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Kitefin Shark Dalatias licha) and reproductive areas (e.g., Shovelnose Dogfish Deania calceus).

Puysegur

Puysegur

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Puysegur is located on the southern part of New Zealand’s South Island. The area is characterised by a steep slope, multiple submarine canyons and seamounts with muddy substrates, and patches of sandstone and shell mixtures (Lewis & Marshall 1996; Tracey et al. 2004). The area is highly influenced by the Subtropical Front where subtropical and subantarctic waters converge (Chiswell et al. 2015). Sea surface temperatures average ~11.5°C in the austral summer and bottom temperature average ~6.8°C (Bagley et al. 2014).

The area overlaps with the Fiordland – West Coast South Island (South) (offshore) and the Rakiura (offshore) Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA 2024a, 2024b).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is pelagic and subsurface and is delineated from 137–1,000 m based on the depth range of Qualifying Species in the area.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

Two Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species regularly occur in the area. These are the Endangered Leafscale Gulper Shark (Finucci et al. 2024) and the Vulnerable Kitefin Shark (Finucci et al. 2018).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Puysegur is an important reproductive area for four shark species.

Independent research surveys using demersal trawls (200–1,300 m depths) were conducted in the area during summer (November–December) in 1991–1993, 2000–2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 (Bagley et al. 2013, 2014, 2017; O’Driscoll et al. 2018; MacGibbon et al. 2019; Stevens et al. 2022, 2024). Contemporary data (since 2009) from these surveys recorded young-of-the-year (YOY) individuals and late-stage pregnant females (with near-term embryos) of Leafscale Gulper Shark, Longnose Velvet Dogfish, Kitefin Shark, and Shovelnose Dogfish that are regularly found in the area (B Finucci unpubl. data 2024).

For Leafscale Gulper Shark, 131 of the 400 individuals (32.7%) recorded in these surveys and for which biological data were collected measured 37.9–50 cm total length (TL) and were caught at depths of 536–985 m (B Finucci unpubl. data 2024). These individuals were classified as YOY based on the reported size for this life stage in the region (<50 cm TL; Parker & Francis 2012; Francis et al. 2016). Puysegur held the largest number of YOY caught in research surveys along all New Zealand in that period and YOY were caught in all surveyed years except for 2016 (Bagley et al. 2013, 2014, 2017; O’Driscoll et al. 2018; MacGibbon et al. 2019; Stevens et al. 2022, 2024; B Finucci unpubl. data 2024). Additionally, three of the seven late-stage pregnant females reported for all New Zealand and 27 early-stage pregnant females were recorded in this area (B Finucci unpubl. data 2024).

For Longnose Velvet Dogfish, 198 of the 615 individuals (32.2%) recorded in these surveys and for which biological data were collected measured 30.6–50 cm TL and were caught at depths of 661–997 m (B Finucci unpubl. data 2024). These individuals were classified as YOY based on the reported size for this life stage in the region (<50 cm TL; Francis et al. 2016). Puysegur held the second largest number of YOY caught in research surveys along all New Zealand and YOY were caught in all surveyed years except for 2009 and 2016 (Bagley et al. 2013, 2014, 2017; O’Driscoll et al. 2018; MacGibbon et al. 2019; Stevens et al. 2022, 2024; B Finucci unpubl. data 2024). Additionally, 20 of the 69 late-stage pregnant females reported for all New Zealand and 37 early-stage pregnant females were recorded in this area (B Finucci unpubl data 2024).

For Kitefin Shark, 50 of the 106 individuals (50%) recorded in these surveys and for which biological data were collected measured 39.4–50 cm TL and were caught at depths of 419–964 m (B Finucci unpubl. data 2024). These individuals were classified as YOY based on the reported size for this life stage in the region (<50 cm TL; Francis et al. 2016). Puysegur held the second largest number of YOY caught in research surveys along all New Zealand in the surveyed years and YOY were caught in all surveys (Bagley et al. 2013, 2014, 2017; O’Driscoll et al. 2018; MacGibbon et al. 2019; Stevens et al. 2022, 2024; B Finucci unpubl. data 2024).

For Shovelnose Dogfish, 15 of the 1,238 individuals (1.21%) recorded in these surveys and for which biological data were collected measured 36.6–50 cm TL and were caught at depths of 616–927 m (B Finucci unpubl. data 2024). These individuals were classified as YOY based on the reported size for this life stage in the region (<50 cm TL; Parker & Francis 2012). Puysegur held the second largest number of YOY caught in research surveys along all New Zealand in the surveyed years and YOY were caught in 2011, 2018, 2020, and 2022 (Bagley et al. 2013, 2014, 2017; O’Driscoll et al. 2018; MacGibbon et al. 2019; Stevens et al. 2022, 2024; B Finucci unpubl. data 2024). Additionally, one of the 32 late-stage pregnant females reported for all New Zealand and 60 early-stage pregnant females were recorded in this area (B Finucci unpubl. data 2024).

Puysegur

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