Nelson City’s sea is a short stretch of the eastern side of Tasman Bay, with a marine reserve just north of the city. It is in MPI’s Challenger area, and Nelson is a LINZ standard port with the largest mean spring range of the 16.
Reports current for Thursday, 8 October
The one Nelson water we cover has a live read this morning. 1 is scoring 4 out of 5 or better, and none is slow. Water is around 14 °C. Pressure is falling here, the trend our model scores highest.
Best right now: Nelson 4/5
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
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 |
| Southern scallop fishery (SCA 7) closed | Closed, no reopening date | Marlborough Sounds, Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and Port Underwood have been closed to scallop fishing since 15 July 2018, until further notice. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Challenger area fishing rules, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
LINZ’s table gives Nelson a mean spring range of 3.65 m and a mean high water springs of 4.27 m above chart datum, and Nelson is the reference for 34 secondary ports across Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and Pelorus Sound.
Scallops are closed in Tasman Bay, the set-net ban between Farewell Spit and Cape Soucis reaches 4 nautical miles offshore, and blue cod fall under MPI’s Tasman area. Horoirangi Marine Reserve, a no-fishing zone, lies just north of the city along the Atawhai shore towards Pepin Island, and the city council has buoyed its boundary in yellow. The council also asks boats to slow to no-wake speed within 300 m of marine mammals.
Nelson/Marlborough Fish & Game’s region stretches from Kahurangi Point south to Springs Junction and east to the Conway River catchment, and it includes Lake Argyle as a stocked fishery.
Horoirangi, north of the city off the Glen and Atawhai; yellow buoys mark its boundary, and DOC lists it as closed to all fishing.
LINZ’s standard port figures show it: a 3.65 m mean spring range at Nelson, against 1.31 m at Wellington.
Nelson/Marlborough, which issues the freshwater licence for local rivers; sea fishing in Tasman Bay needs 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.