Blue Cod (also known as Rāwaru, Pākirikiri) in New Zealand (FMA1 — Auckland & northeast). Minimum legal size, daily bag limit, possession limit — verified against the Fisheries New Zealand guide, 2026.
In New Zealand (FMA1 — Auckland & northeast), the minimum legal size for Blue Cod is 30 cm and the daily bag limit is 20 finfish combined (no separate per-species limit — see notes). There is no closed season in NZ.
No closed season
In the Auckland & Kermadec area blue cod has a 30 cm minimum legal size, no individual daily sub-limit (capped by the combined 20-finfish daily limit), and must be landed whole or gutted — not filleted at sea — so it can be measured. Blue cod is managed very differently elsewhere in New Zealand: the South Island areas use a 33 cm minimum with much smaller bag limits, slot rules and seasonal closures, so never carry these northeast settings to another region. Blue cod are slow-growing and easily fished out of a spot — move on after a feed.
These limits are pulled from the Fisheries New Zealand recreational fishing rules (Auckland & Kermadec area). Last verified June 2026.
Always check the official guide before keeping any fish. Regulations change. Fisheries New Zealand (Tini a Tangaroa), Ministry for Primary Industries updates its guide annually and occasionally mid-year. Fines for over-bag or undersized fish are significant.
New Zealand does not require any licence to fish recreationally in the sea — saltwater fishing is open to everyone, subject to the size, bag and method rules. A licence from Fish & Game New Zealand is required only to fish for freshwater sports fish (trout and salmon).
Olli-Mikael Vaittinen has fished his whole life. Fifteen years of fly fishing, guiding seasons on Norway's Lakselva — his favourite Atlantic salmon river — and a blue marlin landed in Vava'u, Tonga. Founder of Fishare — the app that puts the data behind the decisions every angler makes on the water.
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