Otago’s coast runs from Oamaru south past Moeraki and the Otago Harbour at Dunedin to the Catlins. It is in MPI’s South-East area, and since 1 July 2026 five new marine reserves have closed parts of it to all fishing.
Reports current for Thursday, 8 October
Every one of the 2 Otago waters we cover has a live read this morning. They are all sitting in the middle of the scale today. Water is around 11 °C. Pressure is rising on most of them, which costs a point in our model when the sky is clear.
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
Otago Harbour’s city: council jetties and ramps round the harbour, set-net bans in its upper reaches and entrance, and a no-take marine reserve on the ocean coast since July 2026.
A historic North Otago harbour, closed to shipping since 1974, where Waitaki District Council keeps the wharves and slipway but the breakwater is shut to the public.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunedin fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Oamaru fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
DOC and Kāi Tahu co-manage the new network of marine reserves on the Otago coast: Waitaki, Papanui, Ōrau, Ōkaihae and Hākinikini, gazetted on 28 May 2026 and in force from 1 July 2026. Together they cover 308 km², about 4% of Otago’s coastal marine area, and no recreational, commercial or customary fishing under the Fisheries Act is allowed in them. A sixth reserve, Te Umukōau, is being reconsidered, and the Type 2 protected areas proposed for the same coast are still with the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries. Until MPI adds them to its South-East closed-area list, DOC’s maps and GPS files are the place to check the boundaries.
Taiaroa Head splits MPI’s blue cod areas: North Otago, from the Rakaia, allows ten a day, as does the Southern area beyond the head, while the East Otago Taiāpure allows two. Set nets are banned to 4 nautical miles along the east coast as far as South Point, and MPI adds specific bans in parts of the upper Otago Harbour, off Port Chalmers, at the harbour entrance and on Catlins Lake, where drag nets are also banned.
Otago Regional Council’s harbourmaster covers the Otago Harbour and Oamaru marinas and ramps, keeps a camera on the Taieri Mouth bar, and sets a 5-knot limit within 200 m of the shore. The council’s notice says that from 9 October 2026 lifejackets must be worn on all recreational craft of 6 m or less. LINZ has two standard ports here, Dunedin and Port Chalmers, and refers Green Island and Spit Wharf to Port Chalmers but Oamaru and Moeraki to Timaru.
Otago Fish & Game lists the Clutha/Mata-au, the Taieri and the Pomahaka, Waipahi and Waihemo / Shag rivers among its fisheries, along with the Southern Lakes. North Otago up to Moeraki belongs to the Central South Island region.
Along the Otago coast: Waitaki, Papanui, Ōrau, Ōkaihae and Hākinikini. DOC publishes each reserve’s map and GPS points; fishing has been banned in them since 1 July 2026.
Ten a day north of Taiaroa Head and ten a day south of it, but only two inside the East Otago Taiāpure. Check the South-East page for the measurable-state rules.
The regional council says bars shift and local knowledge is essential; check its Taieri Mouth bar camera, avoid low water and the ebb, and if in doubt don’t go.
A Fish & Game licence; the Clutha/Mata-au is an Otago Fish & Game fishery. No licence is needed to fish the sea.
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.