The composition of the commercial and research giant stargazer, (Kathetostoma giganteum) catch off the west coast of the South Island (STA 7) during the 2004-05 fishing year.

This report presents the results of market sampling of the giant stargazer catch in the mixed-species, bottom-trawl fishery off the west coast of the South Island during February-June 2005, and of an analysis of giant stargazer data collected during a research trawl survey of the west coast of the South Island during March-April 2005. This work was funded by the Ministry of Fisheries under research project ST A2004-01 ("Stock assessment of stargazer in ST A 7"), Specific Objectives 1 & 2. The aim of the market sampling programme was to sample the WCSI fishery at about the same time as the WCSI survey so that comparable age-frequency distributions could be computed and used as observations in a quantitative stock assessment of the ST A 7 stock. The unit stock defined in both the market sampling programme and in the stock assessment is "STA 7(W)", that is that portion of the ST A 7 stock area excluding eastern Cook Strait. Sampling effort was allocated to the two major ports on the west coast of the South Island and by month, proportionally by historic trends in catch in the fishery by these factors.