Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Taranaki fishing rules
Size and daily limits for the lower and central North Island, from Cape Runaway around to Tirua Point, including Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Taranaki.
Checked against MPI on 28 October 2026 (MPI last reviewed 16 October 2026). Rules change, and some harbours and reserves have their own rules or are closed. Always check the official app before you keep a fish.
Popular fish
Snapper
tāmure
- 10 a dayMin 27 cm
New Zealand's most popular saltwater fish. Pinkish-red with bright blue spots. Found over reefs, channels, mussel farms and soft bottom from the shore out to around 100 m. Ledger rigs with fresh bait, softbaits and slow jigs all work, best around the change of light and the tide.
Spring snapper: how to rig up
Kingfish
haku
- 3 a dayMin 75 cm
Big, fast and strong, with a yellow tail and a bronze stripe down the side. Hunts around pinnacles, points, reefs and wharves. Live bait, jigs and stickbaits on heavy gear. Many anglers release the big breeders.
How to catch kingfish
Kahawai
- Within the 20No minimum
Silver, hard-fighting and found in schools right around the coast, often busting up bait on the surface. Takes small lures, softbaits, flies and bait. Bleed it straight away and keep it cold for the best eating.
How to catch kahawai
Blue cod
rāwaru
- Blue cod (Taranaki to Titahi Bay)2 a dayMin 33 cmLand whole or gutted only.
- Blue cod (Titahi Bay to Cape Runaway)20 a dayMin 33 cmLand whole or gutted only.
The classic southern reef fish, found right around the country but most common from Cook Strait south. A curious fish that comes to bait readily. Limits vary a lot from place to place, and it must be landed whole or gutted in most areas so it can be measured.
- Blue cod (Taranaki to Titahi Bay)
Gurnard
kumukumu
- Within the 20Min 25 cm
Red gurnard live on sand and mud bottoms and walk along on the front rays of their fins, which have bright blue edges. They grunt when landed. Small baits on flasher rigs drifted over sand work well.
How to catch gurnard
Trevally
araara
- Within the 20Min 25 cm
Schooling fish with a soft mouth, so play them gently. Found in harbours, around reefs and along surf beaches. Small baits and berley bring them in.
Tarakihi
- Within the 20Min 25 cm
Silver with a black band behind the head. Lives over sand and gravel near reefs, usually in deeper water. Small hooks with bait.
Hāpuku
- 2 a dayNo minimumNo more than 3 per person when taken over more than one day.
Hāpuku and bass are big groper from deep reefs, often 100 m or more. Heavy gear and big baits. Limits are low, so take only what you need.
Flounder
pātiki
- Flatfish (except sand flounder)Within the 20Min 25 cm
- Sand flounderWithin the 20Min 23 cm
Flatfish of harbours, estuaries and sandy shallows. Small baits on light gear, or set nets and spears where allowed. Sand flounder often has a smaller minimum than other flatfish.
- Flatfish (except sand flounder)
Blue moki
- Within the 20Min 40 cm
Grey-blue reef fish often found over sand next to rocks. Takes shellfish and crab baits.
Red cod
- Within the 20Min 25 cm
Soft-fleshed fish of sandy and muddy bottoms, more common in the south. Best eaten fresh.
Elephant fish
- Within the 20No minimum
A shark relative with a trunk-like snout that feeds over sand, mostly on the east coast of the South Island in spring and summer. Takes shellfish and crab baits.
Tuna
- 1 a dayNo minimum
Southern bluefin tuna turn up offshore in winter. Big fish on heavy game gear.
Salmon
- 1 a dayNo minimum
Quinnat (chinook) salmon run up the big South Island rivers in summer and are sometimes caught at sea near the river mouths.
All finfish limits
Every species counts towards the 20 a day. Some also have their own lower limit.
| Species | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|
Blue cod (Taranaki to Titahi Bay)Land whole or gutted only. | 2 | 33 cm |
Blue cod (Titahi Bay to Cape Runaway)Land whole or gutted only. | 20 | 33 cm |
 Bluenose | 5 | — |
Hāpuku / bassNo more than 3 per person when taken over more than one day. | 2 | — |
Kingfish | 3 | 75 cm |
Quinnat salmon | 1 | — |
Snapper | 10 | 27 cm |
Southern bluefin tuna | 1 | — |
Blue moki | Within the 20 | 40 cm |
 Butterfish (greenbone) | Within the 20 | 35 cm |
Flatfish (except sand flounder) | Within the 20 | 25 cm |
Sand flounder | Within the 20 | 23 cm |
Red cod | Within the 20 | 25 cm |
Red gurnard | Within the 20 | 25 cm |
 Red moki | Within the 20 | 40 cm |
Tarakihi | Within the 20 | 25 cm |
Trevally | Within the 20 | 25 cm |
 Trumpeter | Within the 20 | 35 cm |
Kahawai | Within the 20 | — |
Elephant fish | Within the 20 | — |
 Rig | Within the 20 | — |
 School shark | Within the 20 | — |
| All other finfish | Within the 20 | — |
Baitfish: 50 a day
Any mix of:
Anchovy, Jack, horse or Chilean mackerel, Koheru / scad, Pilchard, Piper / garfish, Slender or stout sprat, Yellow-eyed mullet.
Freshwater eels: 6 a day
On top of the 20 finfish and the baitfish.
Shellfish
| Species | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|
 Cockles | 150 | — |
 Kina (sea eggs) | 50 | — |
 Mussels | 50 | — |
 Dredge oystersLand in the shell. | 50 | 58 mm |
 Rock and Pacific oystersDon't open them while still attached to the rock. | 250 | — |
 Pāua (ordinary)Minimum 85 mm in the Taranaki pāua fishery area. Land in the shell. | 5 | 125 mm |
Pāua (yellow foot)Land in the shell. | 5 | 80 mm |
 Pipi | 150 | — |
 ScallopsSeason 15 July to 14 February. Land in the shell. | 20 | 100 mm |
 Toheroa | Prohibited | — |
 Tuatua | 150 | — |
All other shellfish (combined) | 50 | — |
Rock lobster (crayfish)
- Cape Runaway to the Wairoa River: 3 spiny (red) and 3 packhorse a day.
- South of the Wairoa River: 6 a day of spiny (red) and packhorse rock lobster combined, with no more than 3 packhorse.
- Cape Runaway to East Cape Lighthouse: clip the tail (telson) of every spiny rock lobster you keep.
- Minimum tail width: spiny (red) rock lobster 54 mm for males and 60 mm for females; packhorse rock lobster 84 mm for males and 90 mm for females. If unsure of the sex, use the female size.
- Return any female carrying eggs, any soft-shelled rock lobster and any you can’t measure.
Good to know
- The 20 finfish limit is per person per day, for any mix of finfish. Species with their own limit (like 10 snapper) count towards the 20.
- Baitfish (up to 50) and freshwater eels (up to 6) are on top of the 20.
- No fishing in the Kāpiti, Tapuae, Taputeranga, Te Angiangi, Te Tapuwae o Rongokako and Parininihi marine reserves.
- Pukerua Bay is hand-held lines only. Set netting is banned along much of the Taranaki coast and at Cape Runaway and Pāuatahanui Inlet.
- It is illegal to buy, sell or swap fish you catch recreationally.
Recent changes and closures
- Blackfoot pāua ban around Waimārama, including Te Motu o Kura / Bare Island, until 22 December 2026.
- Temporary closures: no finfish or shellfish at Tangoiro / Waihirere and Motuoroi; no fish, aquatic life or seaweed in the Te Ohooho o Parapara rāhui; no mussels in Ōhiwa Harbour; no shellfish (except rock lobster) in Western Taranaki.
Other areas
Planning a trip? Check the bite times and tides for your spot.