Fiordland fishing rules
Size and daily limits for the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area, from Milford Sound / Piopiotahi to Preservation Inlet.
Checked against MPI on 28 October 2026 (MPI last reviewed 15 July 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
- 5 a day5 a day in the fiordsNo minimum
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 day3 a day in the fiordsMin 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
- 5 a day1 a day in the fiordsNo 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
- 10 a day1 a day in the fiordsMin 33 cmLand whole or gutted only. No blue cod at all from the Milford Sound / Piopiotahi internal waters.
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.
Gurnard
kumukumu
- 5 a day2 a day in the fiordsMin 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
- 5 a day1 a day in the fiordsMin 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
- 10 a day1 a day in the fiordsMin 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
- 3 a day1 a day in the fiordsNo minimumNo hāpuku / bass from the Internal Waters.
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)5 a day2 a day in the fiordsMin 25 cm
- Sand flounder5 a day2 a day in the fiordsMin 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
- 5 a day1 a day in the fiordsMin 40 cm
Grey-blue reef fish often found over sand next to rocks. Takes shellfish and crab baits.
Red cod
- 5 a day2 a day in the fiordsMin 25 cm
Soft-fleshed fish of sandy and muddy bottoms, more common in the south. Best eaten fresh.
Sea perch
- 10 a day1 a day in the fiordsNo minimum
Small, spiny, orange-red reef fish that grabs baits meant for blue cod. Handle with care, as the spines are sharp.
Elephant fish
- 5 a day5 a day in the fiordsNo 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 day1 a day in the fiordsNo minimum
Southern bluefin tuna turn up offshore in winter. Big fish on heavy game gear.
Salmon
- 1 a day1 a day in the fiordsNo 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. Inside the 14 fiords the combined limit is 10 finfish a day and most species have lower limits. Fish from inside count towards the 20.
| Species | Daily limit | The Fiords | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|---|
Blue codLand whole or gutted only. No blue cod at all from the Milford Sound / Piopiotahi internal waters. | 10 | 1 | 33 cm |
Hāpuku / bassNo hāpuku / bass from the Internal Waters. | 3 | 1 | — |
Kingfish | 3 | 3 | 75 cm |
Blue moki | 5 | 1 | 40 cm |
 Bluenose | 3 | 1 | — |
 Butterfish (greenbone) | 4 | 2 | 35 cm |
Flatfish (except sand flounder) | 5 | 2 | 25 cm |
Sand flounder | 5 | 2 | 23 cm |
Kahawai | 5 | 1 | — |
Red cod | 5 | 2 | 25 cm |
Red gurnard | 5 | 2 | 25 cm |
 Red moki | 5 | 5 | 40 cm |
Sea perch / Jock Stewart | 10 | 1 | — |
Snapper | 5 | 5 | — |
Tarakihi | 10 | 1 | 25 cm |
Trevally | 5 | 1 | 25 cm |
 Trumpeter | 5 | 1 | 35 cm |
Albacore tuna | 10 | 3 | — |
Barracouta | 20 | 3 | — |
Elephant fish | 5 | 5 | — |
Hoki | 5 | 1 | — |
 Ling | 5 | 1 | — |
Marblefish | 5 | 1 | — |
Stargazer | 5 | 2 | — |
 Warehou | 5 | 1 | — |
Wrasse | 10 | 4 | — |
 Rig | 2 | 2 | — |
 School shark | 2 | 2 | — |
Spiny dogfish | 2 | 2 | — |
Skate / ray | 1 | 1 | — |
Sharks (blue, bronze whaler, hammerhead, mako, porbeagle, seven-gilled, thresher)1 of each. | 1 | 1 | — |
Marlin | 1 | 1 | — |
Quinnat salmon | 1 | 1 | — |
Southern bluefin tuna | 1 | 1 | — |
| All other finfish | 10 a day (4 in the Fiords) | — | |
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
Some shellfish have lower limits inside the fiords.
| Species | Daily limit | The Fiords | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cockle | 20 | 20 | — |
 Kina (sea eggs) | 30 | 30 | — |
 Mussels | 10 | 10 | — |
 Flat or dredge oysters | No take | No take | — |
 Pāua (ordinary blackfoot) | 5 | 2 | 125 mm |
Pāua (yellow foot) | 2 | 2 | 80 mm |
 Pipi | 20 | 20 | — |
 Scallops | No take | No take | — |
All other shellfish (combined) | 20 | 20 | — |
Rock lobster (crayfish)
- 6 a day of spiny (red) and packhorse rock lobster combined, with no more than 3 packhorse.
- No more than 3 a day (both species combined) from the Milford Sound / Piopiotahi internal waters.
- Over a trip of three or more days you can hold up to 15, but only if each person’s catch is kept separate and labelled.
- 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
- No accumulation: never hold more than one day’s limit of finfish or shellfish, even on a trip of several days.
- Set nets are banned. One setline per person (two per boat), with no more than 5 hooks, and none in the Internal Waters.
- No blue cod pots in the Internal Waters. Use 6/0 or larger circle hooks and one hook per line to help undersized blue cod survive.
- It is illegal to buy, sell or swap fish you catch recreationally.
Other areas
Planning a trip? Check the bite times and tides for your spot.