Boating and Fishing

Golden Bay has the best scallop beds in New Zealand and a growing mussel industry. The scallops are fished by towing dredges along the seabed and both recreational and commercial fishers enjoy a bountiful harvest. The Challenger Scallop Enhancement Company is a privately owned fishing company that gathers scallop spat on artificial collectors (spat is the name for the tiny infant shellfish) and later the small scallops are released onto the shellfish beds.

Commercial scallop fishers put a percentage of their income into the enhancement project. This Company presents an annual management plan to the Ministry of Fisheries and quotas are set after the shellfish beds have been surveyed. The fleet of commercial fishing boats takes between 200 and 700 tons of scallop meat from the beds in the Nelson Marlborough area. These scallops are fished under a rotational system, and immature shellfish beds are left undisturbed to grow. Mussels are grown on extensive structures anchored to the shallow sea floor. Present ‘farms’ are concentrated in the north- west part of Golden Bay and at Wainui Bay in the east. Cockles and oysters are also commercially harvested from the beaches of Golden Bay.

For the amateur visitor looking for a feed, the shores and beaches provide good foraging for a variety of shellfish. Remember to check and obey the MoF quotas! Recreational fishing however is probably of more interest to most visitors – that continual search for the elusive ‘big one’. From October through to April, snapper can be caught around most of the local beaches; Pakawau, Patons Rock, Pohara and Parapara are all good spots for surfcasting. Boat fishing is excellent in most parts of the Bay and there are boat ramps at Tarakohe, Tata Beach and Collingwood.

The West Coast of the Bay from Kahurangi Lighthouse to Farewell Spit provides splendid surfcasting for the skilled fisherman. This is a dangerous coast with large rolling waves, but with good fishing off the rocks and beaches. Paua, crayfish, kina, and other species of fish such as moki and butterfish can also be caught along this coast.

The two main rivers in Golden Bay, the Aorere and the Takaka, together with their tributaries, are good trout fishing rivers. The fish are predominantly brown trout and some large specimens can be taken. The Cobb Reservoir is a very good fishing spot with abundant rainbow trout. Eels are common in most rivers and creeks in Golden Bay. Whitebaiters flock to Golden Bay during the season, as local rivers and creeks can provide excellent whitebaiting spots in a good year.