Redbait

Redbait (Emmelichthys nitidus) is a small pelagic species of the southern oceans, commercially associated above all with Australia and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand. In Australia, it is managed as separate eastern and western stocks within the Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery, with the main fishing grounds running across southern waters from south-east New South Wales and eastern Tasmania to South Australia and western Kangaroo Island. The fishery operates mainly with mid-water trawl, and the 2025-26 Australian catch limits are set at 6,470 tonnes in the East and 4,010 tonnes in the West. Recent real catches have been heavily concentrated in the eastern zone, where reported landings were about 1,788 tonnes in 2023-24 and 1,768 tonnes in the incomplete 2024-25 season, while the western stock has remained lightly exploited, with only 10 tonnes landed in 2023-24. The Australian season runs from 1 May to 30 April, and the species is considered not overfished and not subject to overfishing.

In New Zealand, redbait is a much smaller and more opportunistic fishery. It is taken mainly as bycatch in jack mackerel, squid, and barracouta trawl fisheries, although some directed fishing has taken place, especially on the Chatham Rise. The key catch areas are the southern Chatham Rise, east coast South Island, Southland, and sub-Antarctic waters, while northern areas have declined in importance. The New Zealand fishing year runs from 1 October to 30 September. Recent combined New Zealand landings have remained modest by comparison with Australia, at roughly 835 tonnes against just over 3,000 tonnes of TACC, confirming that New Zealand is commercially relevant but not the market-defining supply origin for the species.

From a product perspective, redbait is a practical industrial pelagic rather than a prestige species. It is used for human consumption, bait, and fishmeal, and is marketed in fresh and frozen forms where food use is required. Its flesh is oily and strongly flavoured, which gives it value in the right applications but also explains why it is often positioned more as a processing and utility fish than as a premium retail product. In commercial terms, redbait is best understood as a southern pelagic raw material with strong relevance for industrial supply chains, reliable quota management in Australia, and secondary bycatch importance in New Zealand.