Canterbury and Otago fishing rules
Size and daily limits for the east coast of the South Island from Clarence Point to Slope Point in the Catlins, including Canterbury and Otago (Kaikōura has its own rules).
Checked against MPI on 28 October 2026 (MPI last reviewed 28 September 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 25 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 cmPart of a combined limit of 5 with hāpuku / bass.
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
- 15 a dayNo minimum5 a day in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō (closed at Rāpaki).
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 (Canterbury: Hurunui River to Rakaia River)2 a dayMin 33 cmIncludes the Akaroa Taiāpure. Closed in the Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, Rāpaki and Extension mātaitai reserves. Land whole or gutted only.
- Blue cod (North Otago: Rakaia River to Taiaroa Head)10 a dayMin 33 cm2 a day in the East Otago Taiāpure. Land whole or gutted only.
- Blue cod (Southern: Taiaroa Head to Sand Hill Point)10 a dayMin 33 cmLand whole, gutted, or headed and gutted (headed minimum 24 cm).
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 (Canterbury: Hurunui River to Rakaia River)
Gurnard
kumukumu
- Within the 30Min 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 30Min 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
- 15 a dayMin 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
- 5 a dayNo minimumCombined limit of 5 with kingfish, with no more than 3 kingfish.
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 30Min 25 cm5 a day in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō (closed at Rāpaki); 10 a day in the Ōpihi, Te Ahi Tarakihi and Waitarakao mātaitai.
- Sand flounderWithin the 30Min 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
- 15 a dayMin 40 cm3 a day in the Akaroa Taiāpure. Closed in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō.
Grey-blue reef fish often found over sand next to rocks. Takes shellfish and crab baits.
Red cod
- 10 a dayMin 25 cmClosed in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō.
Soft-fleshed fish of sandy and muddy bottoms, more common in the south. Best eaten fresh.
Elephant fish
- 5 a dayNo 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 minimumMinimum 45 cm in Otago Harbour.
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 30 a day. Some also have their own lower limit.
| Species | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|
Blue cod (Canterbury: Hurunui River to Rakaia River)Includes the Akaroa Taiāpure. Closed in the Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, Rāpaki and Extension mātaitai reserves. Land whole or gutted only. | 2 | 33 cm |
Blue cod (North Otago: Rakaia River to Taiaroa Head)2 a day in the East Otago Taiāpure. Land whole or gutted only. | 10 | 33 cm |
Blue cod (Southern: Taiaroa Head to Sand Hill Point)Land whole, gutted, or headed and gutted (headed minimum 24 cm). | 10 | 33 cm |
Blue moki3 a day in the Akaroa Taiāpure. Closed in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō. | 15 | 40 cm |
 Bluenose | 5 | — |
 Butterfish (greenbone)3 a day in the Akaroa Taiāpure. Closed in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō. | 15 | 35 cm |
Elephant fish | 5 | — |
Hāpuku / bassCombined limit of 5 with kingfish, with no more than 3 kingfish. | 5 | — |
KingfishPart of a combined limit of 5 with hāpuku / bass. | 3 | 75 cm |
Kahawai5 a day in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō (closed at Rāpaki). | 15 | — |
Red codClosed in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō. | 10 | 25 cm |
 Red moki | 15 | 40 cm |
Snapper | 10 | 25 cm |
Tarakihi | 15 | 25 cm |
 Trumpeter | 15 | 35 cm |
 Warehou | 15 | — |
Spiny dogfish | 15 | — |
 RigClosed at Rāpaki. | 5 | — |
 School shark | 5 | — |
Skate / rayClosed in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō. | 5 | — |
Sharks (blue, bronze, hammerhead, mako, porbeagle, seven-gilled, thresher)1 of each. | 1 | — |
Marlin | 1 | — |
Quinnat salmonMinimum 45 cm in Otago Harbour. | 1 | — |
Southern bluefin tuna | 1 | — |
Spotted black groper | No take | — |
White pointer shark | No take | — |
Flatfish (except sand flounder)5 a day in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō (closed at Rāpaki); 10 a day in the Ōpihi, Te Ahi Tarakihi and Waitarakao mātaitai. | Within the 30 | 25 cm |
Sand flounder | Within the 30 | 23 cm |
Red gurnard | Within the 30 | 25 cm |
Trevally | Within the 30 | 25 cm |
 Grey mullet | Within the 30 | — |
| All other finfish | Within the 30 | — |
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 30 finfish and the baitfish.
Shellfish
| Species | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|
 Cockles50 in the East Otago Taiāpure, 20 in the Akaroa Taiāpure, and 15 (minimum 40 mm) in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō. | 150 | — |
 Kina (sea eggs)20 in the Akaroa Taiāpure and the Tuhawaiki and Te Ahi Tarakihi mātaitai; 10 in the East Otago Taiāpure. | 50 | — |
 Mussels30 in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, green-lipped minimum 70 mm (closed at Rāpaki). | 50 | — |
 Dredge oystersSeason 1 March to 31 August for dredging or diving with breathing apparatus. No size or season limit for hand-gathered oysters. | 50 | 58 mm |
 Pāua, ordinary (Canterbury) | 5 | 125 mm |
Pāua, yellow foot (Canterbury) | 5 | 80 mm |
Pāua, ordinary (south of the Waitaki River) | 10 | 125 mm |
Pāua, yellow foot (south of the Waitaki River) | 10 | 80 mm |
 Pipi15 (minimum 40 mm) in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, closed at Rāpaki. | 150 | — |
 ScallopsSeason 15 July to 14 February. | 20 | 100 mm |
 Tuatua | 150 | — |
All other shellfish (combined) | 50 | — |
Rock lobster (crayfish)
- 6 a day of spiny (red) and packhorse rock lobster combined, with no more than 3 packhorse.
- 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 30 finfish limit is per person per day, for any mix of finfish. Inside the Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō mātaitai reserves and the Akaroa Taiāpure it is 10.
- Baitfish (up to 50) and freshwater eels (up to 6) are on top of the 30.
- Pāua has lower limits in the Timaru and Moeraki mātaitai and Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō (3 a day, both species combined), and is closed in the East Otago Taiāpure.
- No fishing in the Akaroa, Flea Bay (Pōhatu) and Hikurangi marine reserves.
- It is illegal to buy, sell or swap fish you catch recreationally.
Recent changes and closures
- 1 October 2026: new rules for the three Ngāti Wheke mātaitai reserves in Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō and Rāpaki.
Other areas
Planning a trip? Check the bite times and tides for your spot.