{"id":686,"date":"2026-10-12T11:36:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T22:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/?page_id=686"},"modified":"2026-10-12T11:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T22:36:03","slug":"billfish-logbook-programme","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"Billfish Logbook Programme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Billfish Logbook Programme is a long-running fisher-led project that tracks New Zealand\u2019s striped marlin fishery. Skippers targeting marlin keep a record of their catch. These records measure changes in the fishery, which helps to ensure its sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Why it matters<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New Zealand recreational catch rate is one of only two measures used in the regional stock assessment of our striped marlin population. Records fishers provide in the Billfish Logbook Programme are critical to assessing how the fishery is managed. The programme has run since 2006\u201307, taking over from an original annual survey that began in the 1970s. Together, they provide 50 years of information on marlin catch rates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s involved<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participation is voluntary. It is open to charter vessel operators and private skippers who target marlin 10 or more days each year.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Keep a daily logbook <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for each day spent targeting billfish, recording hours fished, billfish strikes, what is caught, and whether it is landed or tagged and released.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Note a few details <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for each trip, such as location, water temperature, wind, and fishing method.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Record other gamefish,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> like blue and black marlin, swordfish, spearfish, tuna, and mako shark.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The programme is moving from the traditional paper logbook to a phone app, making it easier for skippers to record and submit their catch and effort while out on the water.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Why we need long-term commitment<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catch rates are affected by various factors, including each skipper\u2019s level of experience, the type of vessel used, the area fished, the season and weather, and by the number of marlin present. <\/span><b>Consistent records over a number of seasons allow scientists to<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> account for these and other influences, and then to <\/span><b>identify genuine changes in marlin abundance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Records from every trip, including those trips with no catch, help build an accurate picture of the fishery and support its sustainable management.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Your data is protected<\/h2>\n<p><b>Your specific fishing locations are<\/b> <b>confidential<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This information is only used for scientific analysis: no fishing \u2018hotspots\u2019 or localised catch maps are published. Location data is grouped into broad regions (e.g. East Northland vs. Bay of Plenty). All data is treated as commercially sensitive under the Privacy Act 2020 and the research agreement with MPI. Access is restricted to the Billfish research team and to authorised Fisheries New Zealand scientists.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How to join<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested in joining the Billfish Logbook Programme, please email us at <a href=\"mailto:support@ecatch.co.nz\">support@ecatch.co.nz<\/a> or call (03) 470 1414.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Billfish Logbook Programme is a long-running fisher-led project that tracks New Zealand\u2019s striped marlin fishery. Skippers targeting marlin keep a record of their catch. These records measure changes in the fishery, which helps to ensure its sustainability. Why it matters The New Zealand recreational catch rate is one of only two measures used in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-686","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Billfish Logbook Programme - eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Billfish Logbook Programme - eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Billfish Logbook Programme is a long-running fisher-led project that tracks New Zealand\u2019s striped marlin fishery. Skippers targeting marlin keep a record of their catch. These records measure changes in the fishery, which helps to ensure its sustainability. Why it matters The New Zealand recreational catch rate is one of only two measures used in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-11T22:36:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/android-feature.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/billfish-logbook-programme\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/billfish-logbook-programme\\\/\",\"name\":\"Billfish Logbook Programme - eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-11T22:36:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-11T22:36:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/billfish-logbook-programme\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/billfish-logbook-programme\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/billfish-logbook-programme\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Billfish Logbook Programme\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/\",\"name\":\"eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels\",\"description\":\"Electronic catch reporting made simple\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eCatch New Zealand Limited\",\"alternateName\":\"eCatch\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/icon512-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/icon512-1.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"eCatch New Zealand Limited\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecatch.co.nz\\\/acv\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Billfish Logbook Programme - eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Billfish Logbook Programme - eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels","og_description":"The Billfish Logbook Programme is a long-running fisher-led project that tracks New Zealand\u2019s striped marlin fishery. Skippers targeting marlin keep a record of their catch. These records measure changes in the fishery, which helps to ensure its sustainability. Why it matters The New Zealand recreational catch rate is one of only two measures used in","og_url":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/","og_site_name":"eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels","article_modified_time":"2026-10-11T22:36:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/android-feature.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/","url":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/","name":"Billfish Logbook Programme - eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-10-11T22:36:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-11T22:36:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/billfish-logbook-programme\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Billfish Logbook Programme"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/","name":"eCatch for Amateur Charter Vessels","description":"Electronic catch reporting made simple","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/#organization","name":"eCatch New Zealand Limited","alternateName":"eCatch","url":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/icon512-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/icon512-1.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"eCatch New Zealand Limited"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":687,"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/686\/revisions\/687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecatch.co.nz\/acv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}