Closed and Restricted Areas
In each Fishery Management Area there are closed areas where no fishing is allowed. Areas may be closed by the Ministry for Primary Industries as prohibited areas, or by the Department of Conservation as marine reserves, or by the Ministry of Transport due to underwater cables and pipelines in the area.
In each Fishery Management Area there are areas where particular fishing methods are restricted. The notes in this guide identify the areas within the Challenger Fishery Management Area, but these are only a guide. If you are not sure about the location of closed fishing areas, contact your nearest Ministry for Primary Industries or Department of Conservation Office.
This section contains the following:
If you are a recreational fisher in the Marlborough Sounds, you need to read this.
Different rules apply for three different areas:
In Area 1 - Marlborough Sounds Area
Download
- Open every year from 20 December-31 August (both days inclusive)
- Closed every year - 1 September until 19 December (both days inclusive).
You can only take or possess 2 blue cod per fisher at any one time. This applies even if you caught the fish from outside the area and you are transporting the fish through the area.
- You can only have blue cod 30 - 35cm.
- You must not fillet blue cod, unless you eat them immediately. Any blue cod eaten form part of your daily limit.
- You must not use more than 2 hooks per fishing line, when fishing for any finfish species (excluding longlines).
- Fishers staying in baches and aboard vessels are not exempt from these regulations and may only land or transport by sea, 2 whole or gutted blue cod on any one day.
In Area 2 -Closed areas year round (Maud Island, Double Cove, Long Island, Fighting Bay)
Total Prohibition Areas
Maud Island No-Take Zone Map
- No finfish of any species can be taken.
- 40 59.92S 173 54.14E
41 01.70S 173 55.34E
41 02.75S 173 54.75E
41 02.21S 173 52.08E
41 01.21S 173 51.75E ( WGS 1984 )
In Area 3 - Challenger East Area
- The daily limit is 3 blue cod per fisher at 30cm or greater.
- If fishing for two or more days, you may possess a maximum of 6 blue cod per fisher at any one time, even if you caught the fish from outside the area.
- You must not fillet blue cod, unless you eat them immediately. Any blue cod eaten form part of your daily limit.
- During the open season you cannot transport blue cod from other Fishery Management Areas into the Marlborough Sounds Area, unless it meets those regulations ie. only two fish and between 30 and 35cms in length.
Download Large Maud Island no-take zone Map (414 KB)
Download Large Marlborough Sounds Area Map (201 KB)
Set netting is totally prohibited from Cape Jackson to the Clarence River. This area extends out to 4 nautical miles seaward and includes the entire Queen Charlotte Sound, Tory Channel, Port Underwood, Cloudy Bay, Clifford Bay, and Cape Campbell areas. West Coast Set netting is also totally prohibited from Farewell Spit to Awarua Point. This area extends out to 2 nautical miles.
Local exemption:
Download
- Needles Point to Cape Campbell
41 52.37S 174 09.82E
41 52. 37S 174 09.98E
41 43.55S 174 16.57E
41 43.43S 174 16.57E
- Rarangi to Oyster Bay
41 23.49S 174 03.07E
41 23.49S 174 03.25E
41 14.68S 174 14.78E
41 14.55S 174 14.78E
- Fighting Bay fishing prohibited area
41 20.197S 174 10.609E
41 18.407S 174 14.289E
- Deep Bay to Cooper Point
41 13.75S 174 15.51E
41 13.75S 174 15.67E
41 07.07S 174 18.95E
41 06.95S 174 18.95E
- Little Waikawa Bay to Cape Jackson
41 04.14S 174 16.29E
41 04.14S 174 16.47E
40 59.70S 174 18.80E
40 59.50S 174 18.80E ( WGS 1984 )
Download
Total Fishing Prohibition (Maud Island, Double Cove, Long island, Fighting Bay).
Set Net Prohibition.
From 1 January – 30 April (inclusive) set netting can only be undertaken if fishers stay with their nets at all times, the net is set no more than 200 metres from shore and it does not exceed 60 metres in length.
Set netting totally prohibited between 1 October to 31 March (inclusive) each year.
From 1 April to 30 September (inclusive), set netting can only be undertaken using set nets 60 metres or less, with a mesh size greater than or equal to 100mm and it does not exceed nine meshes in height. The net must also be set in direct contact to the ground.
Set netting can only be undertaken using set nets 60 metres or less, with a mesh size greater than or equal to 100mm and it does not exceed nine meshes in height. The net must also be set in direct contact to the ground.
Contact Fishery Officers
Ministry of Fisheries,
Nelson
118 Vickerman St
(03) 548 1069
Blenheim
Grovetown Park,
State Highway 1
(03) 579 1088
Kaikoura Office
114 Beach Road,
Kaikoura
(03) 319 6570
To report illegal fishing
0800 4 POACHER
0800 476 224