Spearfishing the West Coast, South Island
Greymouth is upwelling Tasman water: cool, swell-battered and river-stained, with two honest marks and a very short list of diveable days.
There are two marks here and both are exposed. The Cobden tiphead is the breakwater at the Grey River mouth - butterfish and cod on the structure, but big Tasman swell and a river plume mean you dive it rarely. Point Elizabeth at Rapahoe, on the walkway coast north of town, is the better ground: butterfish and crayfish on rock in cool upwelled water. The coast faces about 270 degrees with a bad sector of roughly 210-330 degrees, and this is the one region in our New Zealand set flagged as an upwelling coast - cold, nutrient-rich water that turns turbid after a big sea and needs a sustained calm to clear.
Summer into autumn on the settled windows, and the windows are short. River output after rain is as much of a gate as the swell; the Grey River plume decides the Cobden dive on its own.
Rules: no licence. The West Coast north of Awarua Point is in the MPI Challenger area: 20 finfish combined per fisher per day, but only 10 inside the Paringa, Popotai Taumaka/Open Bay Islands, Okahu/Jacksons Bay and Tauneke/Barn Bay mataitai reserves, where the vessel limit is 30. Blue cod is 15/day in the Westland sub-area (Haast to Heaphy) and 10/day in Kahurangi (Heaphy to Farewell Spit). Rock lobster is a combined 6 with maximum 3 packhorse and an 18 possession cap with bag-and-tag, and crayfish may never be speared. See https://www.mpi.govt.nz/fishing-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/fishing-rules and https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/marine-reserves/. Safety, conditionally: an exposed west-facing coast with a heavy shorebreak, a river bar at the Grey mouth, upwelled cold water and a moderate shark rating in our data.
Top spots
| Spot | Nearest city | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Motukiekie rocks (Fourteen Mile Bluff) | Greymouth | Sea stacks and rock platforms at Motukiekie, 20 minutes north of… |
| Cape Foulwind (lighthouse reef) | Westport | Shallow subtidal reef behind the Cape Foulwind lighthouse, per a 2007… |
| Tauranga Bay north rocks (Wall Island) | Westport | Rocks at the Wall Island end of Tauranga Bay, beside a fur seal colony |
| Cobden Tiphead | Greymouth | The Cobden breakwater/tiphead at the Grey River mouth |
Cities in this region
FAQ
Is the West Coast diveable?
On its rare settled days. The coast faces about 270 degrees with a bad sector of roughly 210-330, takes big Tasman swell and is upwelling water that turns turbid after a big sea. Point Elizabeth at Rapahoe is the better of the two marks.
What are the blue cod limits?
15 per day in the Westland sub-area (Haast to Heaphy) and 10 per day in Kahurangi (Heaphy to Farewell Spit), within the MPI Challenger area's 20-finfish combined daily limit.
Are there mataitai limits here?
Yes. Inside the Paringa, Popotai Taumaka/Open Bay Islands, Okahu/Jacksons Bay and Tauneke/Barn Bay mataitai reserves the combined finfish limit drops from 20 to 10 per fisher, with a vessel limit of 30.
What decides visibility?
Swell and the rivers. This is the one upwelling coast in our New Zealand set - cold, nutrient-rich water that turns turbid after a big sea and needs a sustained calm - and the Grey River plume can shut Cobden on its own.
See also: Southland & Foveaux