Updates
8 October 2026: Minister’s decisions announced
Following this consultation, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries has made decisions on sustainability measures for shellfish in the Auckland-Coromandel area.
These decisions include:
- closing a defined intertidal zone to recreational harvesting activities, with exceptions for certain shellfish species
- setting reduced daily limits for some species in areas that remain open to harvest.
Minister for Oceans and Fisheries decision letter [PDF, 588 KB]
Fact sheet: New shellfish rules for Auckland and Coromandel [PDF, 1.1 MB]
In a few weeks, we will release the advice paper we prepared for the minister.
Summary of the minister's decisions
These decisions apply from 1 November 2026.
- Recreational harvesting of invertebrates, except for named species of shellfish, will be prohibited in a defined intertidal closure area. Invertebrates are species without a backbone which includes all shellfish and other marine life such as anemones and sponges.
- The intertidal closure will apply from the mean high-water mark (that is, the landward boundary) to a point offshore where the water is 2 metres deep (that is, the seaward boundary).
- The seaward boundary of the intertidal closure will move as the tide goes in and out – refer to images in the fact sheet.
- The intertidal closure area will apply to a specified area on the Auckland-Coromandel mainland extending from Cape Rodney to Houmanga Point (north of Waihi Beach) on the east coast and from Ōkiritoto Stream on Muriwai Beach to Port Waikato on the west coast. The closure will also apply to the Waiheke Island coastline.
- New recreational daily limits will apply to certain species of shellfish. Refer to Table 1.
Table 1: Auckland-Coromandel intertidal closure and daily limits that will apply from 1 November 2026
Daily limits that have changed are marked with an asterix (*).
The intertidal zone is from the mean high-water mark to a point offshore where the water is 2 metres deep.
| Species | Intertidal zone | Outside the defined intertidal zone |
|---|---|---|
| Any individual species or combination of species of shellfish without a specified daily limit, including cat's eyes, limpets, and starfish |
Closed* | |
| Any other species of marine invertebrate not listed below, including anemones, and sponges. |
Closed* | Unconstrained |
| Mussel – blue, horse and green-lipped mussel | Closed* | 50 (up to 10 green-lipped mussels*) |
| Cockle | 50 | 50 |
| Crab (all species) | 10* | 10* |
| Kina | 150 (east coast) 50 (west coast) |
150 (east coast) 50 (west coast) |
| Octopus (all species) | 1* | 1* |
| Oyster – dredge | 50 | 50 |
| Oyster – pacific or rock | 100 | 100 |
| Pāua – blackfoot | 10 | 10 |
| Pāua – yellowfoot | 10 | 10 |
| Pipi | 50 | 50 |
| Rock lobster – spiny | 3 (east coast, CRA 2) 6 (west coast, CRA 9) |
3 (east coast, CRA 2) 6 (west coast, CRA 9) |
| Rock lobster – packhorse | 3 | 3 |
| Scallop | 20 | 20 |
| Sea cucumber (all species) | 5* | 5* |
| Shrimp or prawn (all species) | 50* | 50* |
| Squid (all species) | 10* | 10* |
| Tuatua | 50 | 50 |
Existing shellfish closures will remain in force. It is important that fishers check the rules before they harvest in a particular area.
25 May 2026: Presentation on proposals at a community information session
Fisheries New Zealand provided an overview of the proposals at a community information session on 24 May 2026. The presentation should be read alongside the full consultation document and summary of proposals.
12 May 2026: Fact sheet translated to other languages
We added some translated fact sheets on the summary of options for proposed intertidal closures and changes to the recreational daily limits for shellfish in the Auckland Coromandel area.