Northland is fished from two very different coasts: the east side, with the Bay of Islands, Whangaroa, Whangārei Harbour and Tutukaka, and the west side, with the Hokianga and the Kaipara. All of it sits in MPI’s Auckland and Kermadec rules area, and since 1 April 2026 most of the east coast has been closed to spiny rock lobster.
Reports current for Thursday, 8 October
Every one of the 19 Northland waters we cover has a live read this morning. 5 are scoring 4 out of 5 or better, and none is slow. Water runs 15 °C to 16 °C. Pressure is holding steady on most of them, so the day comes down to water temperature and wind.
Best right now: Mangawhai 4/5, Marsden Point 4/5, Ruakākā 4/5
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
A Kaipara District harbour settlement with the council’s Alamar Crescent boat ramp on the estuary and LINZ’s Mangawhai Heads tide station.
Northland’s harbour city, with LINZ’s Town Basin tide station in the upper harbour and a two-part marine reserve at Waikaraka and Motukaroro.
The township where Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē / Ninety Mile Beach ends, next to a Tauroa Peninsula pāua fishery that MPI closes for two years from 15 October 2026.
A Whangārei Harbour locality with LINZ’s Marsden Point standard port, the all-tide ramps at Marsden Cove and a two-year shellfish closure on Marsden Bank and Mair Bank.
The settlement at the southern tip of the Pouto Peninsula, with a 60-metre all-tide council wharf into the Kaipara Harbour and a boat ramp added in 2025.
A Bream Bay settlement on a 13 km beach that Whangarei District Council lists for surfing and kite surfing, with a wildlife refuge for shorebirds.
The Far North’s long west-coast beach, officially Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē / Ninety Mile Beach, 83 km from Te Paki Stream to Ahipara by DOC’s count.
A small natural harbour on the Tutukaka Coast, home to dive and fishing charters and the main launch point for the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve.
A Hokianga Harbour settlement with a council ramp and wharf beside State Highway 12, where the Far North District Council warns of strong currents.
A Kaipara District access point onto Ripiro Beach, the 107 km west-coast beach that runs from the Poutō Peninsula to Maunganui Bluff.
A Doubtless Bay harbour town with an all-tide council ramp at Mill Bay and a public jetty and pontoon on its waterfront boardwalk.
A Whangaroa Harbour settlement with the council’s Ratcliffes Bay ramp, an all-tide concrete ramp with a floating dock and 23 trailer parks.
A small settlement on the Kaipara Harbour whose council wharf was shut as unsafe in late 2023, on a harbour MPI keeps closed to scallop taking.
Kerikeri’s boating is on the Kerikeri Inlet, where the district council runs ramps on both shores, including the only public launch on the south side.
The Bay of Islands’ marina and car-ferry village, where the council’s commercial company owns the marina, its fuel dock and the ferry ramp.
A Bay of Islands town with council boat ramps listed at Waitangi and Te Haumi, under MPI’s Auckland and Kermadec rules.
Russell (Kororāreka) on the Bay of Islands, with a council ramp on The Strand, a car ferry from Okiato and spiny rock lobster closed since April 2026.
A Doubtless Bay locality with a council boat ramp and jetty, and Mill Bay at Mangōnui as the nearby alternative.
A beach community on the Karikari Peninsula, the land between Doubtless Bay and Rangaunu Harbour, with a council ramp improved for the 2023–24 summer.
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 |
| Northland scallop fishery (SCA 1) closed | Closed, no reopening date | The whole Northland scallop fishery, from Tauroa Point around North Cape to Cape Rodney, has been closed to recreational and commercial scallop fishing since 1 April 2022, until further notice. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Auckland and Kermadec area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Kaipara Harbour: no scallops | Closed, no reopening date | MPI lists Kaipara Harbour as closed to taking scallops. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Auckland and Kermadec area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Scallop season, Auckland and Kermadec | Open 2026-09-01 to 2027-03-31 | Where scallop beds are not closed, the season runs 1 September to 31 March; 20 a day, 100 mm minimum. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Auckland and Kermadec area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Spiny rock lobster closed, Pārengarenga Harbour to Cape Rodney | Closed, no reopening date | Since 1 April 2026 no one may take or possess spiny (red) rock lobster on the east coast between Pārengarenga Harbour and Cape Rodney. Packhorse rock lobster can still be taken (3 a day). | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Auckland and Kermadec area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Te Tauroa pāua closure | Closed until 2028-10-14 (part of the water) | Pāua closed on Tauroa Peninsula from 15 October 2026 to 14 October 2028, from Te Huahua/Iron Gate to near the Hunahuna Stream and 2 km offshore. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Auckland and Kermadec area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Marsden Bank and Mair Bank shellfish closure | Closed until 2028-06-28 (part of the water) | All shellfish closed on Marsden Bank and Mair Bank from 29 June 2026 to 28 June 2028; pipi, scallops and spiny rock lobster were already closed there. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Auckland and Kermadec area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Rehuotane ki Tai temporary closure | Closed, no reopening date (part of the water) | Tutukaka Harbour, Ngunguru Bay and the Ngunguru and Horahora rivers are closed to cockles, pāua, pipi, mussels and other listed species, and to nets in the harbour and rivers. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Auckland and Kermadec area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Water | Type | Live data | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mangawhai fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Whangārei fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Ahipara fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Marsden Point fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Pouto fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Ruakākā fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Ninety Mile Beach fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Tutukaka fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Opononi fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Baylys Beach fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Mangōnui fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Whangaroa fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Tinopai fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Kerikeri fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Opua fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Paihia fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Russell fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Taipa fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Rangiputa fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
MPI closed the east coast from Pārengarenga Harbour to Cape Rodney to the taking of spiny (red) rock lobster on 1 April 2026, on top of the existing Cape Rodney to Port Jackson closure further south; the ban covers recreational and commercial fishers but not authorised customary fishing. The whole Northland scallop fishery, SCA 1, has been closed since 1 April 2022 until further notice. On the west coast MPI lists set-net bans from Cape Reinga to Scott Point, from Reef Point to Whangapē Harbour and at the Kaipara Harbour entrance, as well as the ban that runs from Pariokariwa Point, in Taranaki, north to Maunganui Bluff.
The eastern Bay of Islands is closed to set nets and set lines from 1 October to 30 April, Mimiwhangata and the Poor Knights Islands are closed to both, and at Maunganui Bay (Deep Water Cove) nothing may be taken except kina. DOC manages two marine reserves here: the Poor Knights Islands, and Whangārei Harbour, where two areas are protected, around Motukaroro (Passage) Island and at Waikaraka. MPI also lists the Te Puna mātaitai in the Bay of Islands and Te Mātaitai ō Te Hikutū in the Hokianga, plus temporary closures at Tauroa Peninsula, Tutukaka and Ngunguru (Rehuotane ki Tai) and Marsden and Mair banks; each place page names the ones that touch it.
Marsden Point, on the Whangārei Harbour channel, is the LINZ standard port for the east coast, and LINZ works out Russell, Kerikeri, Mangōnui, Tutukaka Harbour and Mangawhai Heads from it. The west coast is referenced to Port Taranaki instead: LINZ’s secondary-port table puts Ahipara Bay, Opononi, Rawene, Dargaville, Pouto Point and Tinopai on that port. Several Northland sites also get their own daily LINZ tables, among them Opua, Whangaroa, Town Basin, Opononi, Dargaville and Pouto Point.
Northland Fish & Game’s area runs from a line north of Wellsford to Mangawhai Heads all the way to Cape Reinga, and it describes three stocked reservoirs in Whangārei and Kerikeri as the still-water options. A Fish & Game licence is needed for trout here, while the sea needs none.
Not spiny rock lobster between Pārengarenga Harbour and Cape Rodney: MPI has closed that stretch since 1 April 2026, with a penalty of up to NZ$100,000. Packhorse rock lobster is a separate species with its own daily limits, which MPI publishes for the areas still open.
No. MPI closed the entire Northland scallop fishery (SCA 1) from 1 April 2022 and it stays closed until further notice; customary take is not affected.
Because LINZ refers the two coasts to different standard ports: Marsden Point for the harbours on the Pacific side and Port Taranaki for the Hokianga, the Kaipara and Ahipara. Each place page names its reference port and the distance to it.
Not in the sea, MPI confirms. For trout in Northland’s rivers and reservoirs you need a Fish & Game sports fishing licence; see our licence page for the 2026/27 prices.
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.