Hawke’s Bay’s coast runs from the Māhia Peninsula around Hawke Bay past Napier to Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Māui, then south along open coast past Pourērere and Pōrangahau. The region is in MPI’s Central area, Napier is its LINZ standard port, and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s harbourmaster looks after navigation safety on its waters.
Reports current for Thursday, 8 October
Every one of the 3 Hawke's Bay waters we cover has a live read this morning. They are all sitting in the middle of the scale today. Water is around 14 °C. Pressure is holding steady on most of them, so the day comes down to water temperature and wind. 3 have a better-than-even chance of rain.
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
Hawke Bay at Napier, a LINZ standard port, with the Nelson Quay boat ramp in Ahuriri’s inner harbour and the Marine Parade foreshore.
The Māhia Peninsula settlement beside the Horokaka mātaitai, one of three mātaitai around the peninsula, each with its own bans on shellfish, kina and rock lobster.
A Central Hawke’s Bay beach that the district council lists as a busy launching site for recreational fishing boats, with extensive rock pools and a summer freedom-camping ballot.
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 |
| Water | Type | Live data | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napier fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Māhia fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Pourērere fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
MPI’s rock lobster limits change at the Wairoa River: north of it, Māhia included, three spiny and three packhorse a day; south of it a combined six, of which no more than three packhorse. Wairoa Hard is closed to netting of every kind. Around Waimārama, Te Motu-o-Kura / Bare Island included, blackfoot pāua may not be taken until the ban ends on 22 December 2026; it backs a rāhui placed by Ngāi Hapū o Waimārama. On the Māhia Peninsula the Toka Tāmure, Horokaka and Te Hoe mātaitai have their own bylaws.
Te Angiangi Marine Reserve protects a stretch of central Hawke’s Bay coast between Aramoana and Blackhead, and all fishing is banned inside it.
LINZ gives Napier a mean spring range of 1.74 m, and refers Wairoa River Mouth, Waikōkopu, Portland Island, Cape Kidnappers, Te Motu-o-Kura / Bare Island, Pourērere and the Pōrangahau River entrance to it. Māhia’s Happy Jacks Boat Harbour is the odd one out, referred to Gisborne. The regional council adopted the Hawke’s Bay Navigation Safety Bylaw 2024, which took effect on 19 March 2024 and covers both coastal and inland waters.
Hawke’s Bay Fish & Game names the Mohaka, Tutaekuri, Ngaruroro, Waipawa and Tukituki as the main river systems, with brown and rainbow trout, and Lake Tutira as the main lake, stocked with fish from Lake Tarawera.
Not blackfoot pāua until 22 December 2026: MPI has extended the ban on the coast north and south of Waimārama, including Te Motu-o-Kura / Bare Island, in support of the local rāhui.
No. North of the Wairoa River it is three spiny plus three packhorse per day; south of the river it is six combined with a maximum of three packhorse, under MPI’s Central rules.
LINZ refers Happy Jacks Boat Harbour, the secondary port used for our Māhia page, to Gisborne rather than Napier.
Yes, a Fish & Game licence; both are Hawke’s Bay Fish & Game waters. The sea needs no licence.
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.