Canterbury’s coast runs from the Kaikōura coast in the north, which has its own MPI rules, past Christchurch’s beaches and Banks Peninsula’s harbours at Lyttelton/Whakaraupō and Akaroa, south to Timaru. Lyttelton and Timaru are both LINZ standard ports.
Reports current for Thursday, 8 October
Every one of the 8 Canterbury waters we cover has a live read this morning. They are all sitting in the middle of the scale today. Water is around 12 °C. Pressure is rising on most of them, which costs a point in our model when the sky is clear.
Best right now: Akaroa 3/5, Christchurch 3/5, Kaiapoi 3/5
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
Christchurch’s salt water is the Estuary of the Heathcote and Avon Rivers/Ihutai and Pegasus Bay, with free council ramps at Ferrymead and Redcliffs and no set netting in the estuary.
Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, a LINZ standard port where the Ngāti Wheke mātaitai bylaws took effect on 1 October 2026 and boats launch at Naval Point.
The Kaikōura Peninsula inside MPI’s separate Kaikōura Marine Area: no set nets anywhere, a closed reef at Wakatu Quay and a slipway at South Bay.
The seaside suburb at the mouth of the Christchurch estuary, with the Sumner Life Boat Ramp at Scarborough, the Moncks Bay ramp and LINZ’s Sumner Head station.
A port city on the South Canterbury coast, a LINZ standard port with three mātaitai reserves along its shore, north and south of the harbour.
The Banks Peninsula harbour town, with Daly’s all-tide ramp, a marine reserve across the harbour mouth and the Akaroa Taiāpure rules inside.
Pegasus Bay surf and the 300 m New Brighton Pier, where Christchurch City Council allows fishing except on Sunday daytime and lists red cod, kahawai and mullet among the catch.
A river town on the Kaiapoi River near the Waimakariri mouth, with a Coastguard ramp and fishing platform at the Kaiapoi Marine Precinct.
Species activity across the covered waters, written for the southern year. Peak of the year: January.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Seasonal surface curve for the dominant water type here, in degrees Celsius (estimated, not a reading).
Read from the agency page named on each row, on the date shown, and calculated for 2026 from the rule as written: a date written as a day of the week is computed, not copied. Species with no published closure are not listed, which is not the same as open.
| Fishery | 2026 | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitebait season | Open 2026-09-01 to 2026-10-30 | Whitebaiting is allowed only from 1 September to 30 October inclusive, 5 am to 8 pm (6 am to 9 pm in daylight saving). The West Coast has its own gear rules, not different dates. | Department of Conservation, whitebaiting regulations, read 2026-10-07 |
| Scallop season | Open 2026-07-15 to 2027-02-14 | Scallop season 15 July to 14 February. | Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, read 2026-10-07 |
| Pāua season, Kaikōura coast | Open 2026-05-01 to 2026-08-31 | Pāua can be taken between Marfells Beach and the Conway River only from 1 May to 31 August: 3 blackfoot (130 mm) and 3 yellowfoot (80 mm) a day. The Kaikōura Peninsula taiāpure and three mātaitai stay closed all year. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Kaikōura area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō mātaitai: no blue cod | Closed, no reopening date (part of the water) | Since 1 October 2026 no blue cod may be taken in the Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō and Extension mātaitai reserves; 10 finfish in total. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), South-East area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Water | Type | Live data | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christchurch fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Lyttelton fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Kaikōura fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Sumner fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Timaru fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Akaroa fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| New Brighton fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Kaiapoi fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
MPI manages blue cod in bands along this coast: six a day in the Kaikōura area (Clarence River to Hurunui River), two a day in the Canterbury area (Hurunui to Rakaia, Akaroa Taiāpure included) and ten a day in North Otago from the Rakaia south. Set nets are banned to 4 nautical miles from Clarence to South Point, except in estuaries, rivers, lagoons and inlets other than the Avon-Heathcote, and for flounder from 1 April to 30 September in Pigeon Bay, Akaroa Harbour, Lyttelton Harbour and Port Levy. Since 1 October 2026 the Ngāti Wheke mātaitai in Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō and at Rāpaki have allowed no blue cod at all.
In the Kaikōura Marine Area, Te Whata Kai o Rakihouia i Te Tai o Marokura, MPI’s combined daily bag is 30 finfish. Pāua there open only from 1 May to 31 August, and the Hikurangi Marine Reserve and the Waiopuka (Wakatu Quay) reef are closed at all times. Kaikōura District Council runs the South Bay marina slipway on the southern side of the peninsula, at NZ$12.50 a launch.
Akaroa Marine Reserve, 512 hectares at the mouth of Akaroa Harbour, and Pōhatu Marine Reserve in Flea Bay on the outer coast of Banks Peninsula are closed to fishing. LINZ refers Kaikōura, Motunau Beach, New Brighton Pier, Sumner Head, Akaroa and the Rakaia River mouth to Lyttelton, and the Ashburton/Hakatere and Rangitata river mouths to Timaru.
Three Fish & Game regions meet here. North Canterbury covers the Waimakariri, Rakaia and Hurunui and the high-country lakes; Central South Island runs from the south bank of the Rakaia to Moeraki, with chinook salmon in the Rangitata and Waitaki; and Nelson/Marlborough reaches the Conway catchment near Kaikōura.
Two a day between the Hurunui and Rakaia rivers, six in the Kaikōura area and ten south of the Rakaia, under MPI’s South-East and Kaikōura rules; none in the Lyttelton and Rāpaki mātaitai.
From 1 May to 31 August only, between Marfells Beach and the Conway River. The Kaikōura Peninsula taiāpure and the Oaro, Mangamaunu and Te Waha o te Marangai mātaitai stay closed to pāua.
Yes, from 1 April to 30 September in Pigeon Bay, Akaroa Harbour, Lyttelton Harbour and Port Levy, with the net specifications MPI sets. Outside those exemptions the coast is closed to set nets out to 4 nautical miles.
A Fish & Game licence; both rivers are listed by North Canterbury Fish & Game, while the surf beaches and harbours need none.
The facts on this page were checked against these pages, from the agencies, park services and operators that manage the water on 7 October 2026; anything we could not verify was taken out.