Popular Species

Information and rules for some of the popular recreational fishing species.


Fish Identification
Recreational species subject to size/mesh limitations or catch limits.


Blue Cod
Blue cod is one of the most popular species for recreational fishers in the top of the South Island.


Crabs
Crabs form part of the ‘all others’ shellfish restrictions.


Kingfish
A new national recreational minimum size limit of 75 cm for kingfish was introduced on 15 January 2004.


Paua
A number of practices used in the recreational paua fishery result in high mortalities of undersized paua through ignorance and poor harvesting techniques.


Rock Lobster (Crayfish)
New Zealand has two common species of rock lobster: the red or spiny rock lobster Jasus edwardsii and the green or packhorse rock lobster Jasus verreauxi.


Catfish
Brown Bullhead Catfish code of Practise a guide to reducing the risk of catfish being introduced to new area.


Eels
Eels are the top predator in freshwater. A guide to good fishing practise.


Scallops
Scallops Code of Practise- Information for scallop fishers.