New Blue cod regulations

Following consultation, the Minister of Fisheries has made decisions on blue cod regulations for both recreational and commercial fishing.

The minister has decided to:

• require a minimum mesh size on blue cod pots of 54mm for both commercial and recreational fishers

• apply a recreational minimum legal size of 33cm for blue cod in all areas, except BCO 1 (upper North Island) where the minimum legal size will remain at 30cm

• require recreational fishers to land blue cod in a measurable state (unless to be immediately eaten on the fishing vessel from which it was taken)

• apply a two-day accumulation limit for recreational blue cod fishers based on the daily bag limit set for all areas (except for the Fiordland Marine Area where the accumulation limit is 1 day)

• set the daily recreational bag limits for blue cod in areas of the South Island and the Chatham Islands according to a traffic light system.

Note: The traffic light system assigns a colour rating to different areas in the South Island and the Chatham Islands. The rating can be changed as available information suggests stock health is improving or declining. The following blue cod bag limits apply to the areas:

• green areas (healthy) are 15

• orange (rebuilding/declining) are 10

• red (in trouble) are 2. 

These measures will apply from 1 July 2020 and were developed as part of the National Blue Cod Strategy.
The National Blue Cod Strategy