Southland is fished along Foveaux Strait, from Riverton/Aparima and Oreti Beach to Bluff, around Stewart Island/Rakiura, and in Fiordland, which has its own rules. Bluff is the region’s LINZ standard port.
Reports current for Thursday, 8 October
Every one of the 3 Southland 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: Bluff 3/5, Oreti Beach 3/5, Riverton/Aparima 3/5
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
Riverton/Aparima’s harbour, where the regional council bans anchoring near the harbour leads and the district council has budgeted a new T wharf.
Bluff Harbour’s town, with a city-council boat ramp that charges launch fees and checks payment by camera.
A long open beach west of Invercargill whose toheroa bed may not be dug without a customary authorisation.
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, Southland | Open 2026-10-01 to 2027-03-15 | Southland scallop season 1 October to 15 March; 10 a day, 100 mm minimum. | Fisheries New Zealand (MPI), Southland area fishing rules, read 2026-10-07 |
| Water | Type | Live data | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverton/Aparima fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Bluff fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
| Oreti Beach fishing report | Coast | modelled tide | Jan |
MPI’s Southland area covers Foveaux Strait, Stewart Island and nearby islands out to 200 nautical miles, leaving Fiordland and Paterson Inlet to their own rules. Dredge oysters are open from 1 March to 31 August. Set netting, recreational and commercial, is banned to 4 nautical miles between Slope Point and Sand Hill Point. Ulva Island-Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve and the Pikomamaku (Womens Island) mātaitai are closed to all take, and Paterson Inlet is managed as the Te Whaka ā Te Wera mātaitai.
The Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area runs from Awarua Point and 12 nautical miles out to sea. The combined limit is 20 finfish a day, but only 10 when fishing inside the fiords, with no accumulation, and blue cod must reach 33 cm. The Internal Waters, about 46,000 hectares across 15 fiords, are closed to commercial fishing and to taking groper. DOC manages ten marine reserves from Milford Sound to Preservation Inlet, and Environment Southland requires a Clean Vessel Pass for any vessel coming within one nautical mile of the marine area’s landward boundary.
LINZ refers 26 secondary ports to Bluff, Riverton/Aparima, Waihopai River Entrance and Halfmoon Bay / Oban among them, and publishes daily tables for several. Fiordland is different: sounds such as Taiporoporo / Charles Sound and Hāwea / Bligh Sound are worked from Westport.
Southland Fish & Game manages the Mataura, Oreti, Waiau and Aparima rivers, with a voluntary beat system on the upper Mataura. Environment Southland requires lifejackets to be worn in boats of 6 m and under and two working forms of communication on board.
No. Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island follow MPI’s Southland rules, while Fiordland has its own Marine Area rules with lower limits inside the fiords.
From 1 March to 31 August under MPI’s Southland rules; check the area page for the daily limit before going out.
A Clean Vessel Pass from Environment Southland if you come within one nautical mile of the Fiordland Marine Area’s landward boundary, and your gear must meet its clean-vessel standards.
Southland Fish & Game’s; the sea, Foveaux Strait included, 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.