Ackers PointStewart Island (Oban)
borderline Ultra · subscribers
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
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The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appStewart Island (Oban) spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.2
wave 0.5 m
visibility2m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · buoys · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 23:54
Sources & confidence
- Sources
- IPMA · NDBC & IH buoys · Copernicus Marine · Sentinel-2
- Method
- spearo sea-state engine: 6-model consensus + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
- Freshness
- Re-read every hour, per coast
Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine · How it works →
The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.
How we score the water
Our own model
Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.
- Swell & wave memory
- Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
- Wind & gusts
- Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
- Tide phase
- Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
- Water temperature
- Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
- Currents & outflow
- Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
- Rain runoff & air clarity
- Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
- Coast shape & exposure
- How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.
Safety gates
- Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
- An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
- Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
- Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
- Night hours — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.
It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.
A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.
Where to get in, where to hunt
Entry points with coordinates
Seabed relief — promising ground
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
MetService no dataThis information is made freely available by MetService. Despite this, MetService is not associated with, and does not endorse, spearo.app or have involvement in how this information is presentedupdated 23:54
Stewart Island (Oban) — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind-wave — choppy surface
wave 0.5 mwind 18, gusts 41 km/hvisibility ~2 mwindow 06:00–09:00
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 11.1°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.
Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.
Selected day
Windows, hours
and the day's trends.
The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.
Thursday · today2026-09-10
07:01–18:28 · new moon
▲ 00:00▼ 06:00▲ 12:00▼ 19:00mid-range tides · 2.3 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.95 m
Wave1.04 m
Wind27 km/h
Water11 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 00:00 · high · moonrise 06:30 · moderate · moon overhead 11:50 · high · moonset 17:20 · moderate
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.52 m · slightperiod 4.3 swind 18→41surge 0.1viz 2 m
0.52 mslight · up to ~1.04 · 299° at an angle
4.3 sswell moderate
18→41gusts 41 km/h
0.1weak surge
0.28m/s
2 mrain and mountain runoff
11.1°Cthicker suit + hood
▲12:00tide turn near
Atmosphere13 kmprecip 0.3 mm
moderatemoonrise
- wind-wave — choppy surface
- wind 18 km/h, gusts to 41 — caution
- first hours of the flood — fish moving in
confidence lowtwilight
The water column
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
What it is
A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.
spearo.app folds wind, wave, swell period, visibility, tides, water temperature and risk into a single verdict — go to the spot or not. It computes 7 days ahead from open marine models (Open-Meteo, IPMA), with no sign-up and no accounts. Built for solo spearfishing off the rocks, where any mistake costs dearly.
Now live: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
See all spotsThe seabed
Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
On the rock
The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.
The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.
Entry points
Where to get in
off the rocks.
Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.
Open the seafloor mapHalfmoon Bay (Oban)Stewart Island (Oban)
borderlinein the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- —
Sheltered Halfmoon Bay at Oban; clear cold water, pāua and blue cod — Rakiura is a GW aggregation, advice-only, never alone.
Google MapsHorseshoe BayStewart Island (Oban)
borderlinein the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- —
Rocky Horseshoe Bay north of Oban; pāua and blue cod in clear cold water — high GW hazard, local knowledge essential.
Google MapsRingaringa BeachStewart Island (Oban)
borderline Pro · subscribers
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- —
The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appSOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →What's in season,
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- blue cod (rāwaru)Min 33 cm. Southern area (Taiaroa Head – Sand Hill Point): 15 a day. South West (Sand Hill Point – Haast, outside the Fiordland Marine Area): 10. Fiordland Marine Area: 10. Milford Sound (Piopiotahi): NO TAKE. Read the fiord, not the region.
- butterfish / greenbone (marari)min 35 cm · bag 15 (Southland) / 4 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day
- blue mokimin 40 cm · bag 15 (Southland) / 5 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day
- trumpeter (kohikohi)min 35 cm · bag 15 (Southland) / 5 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day
- tarakihimin 25 cm · bag 15 (Southland) / 10 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day · Almost always sits below safe breath-hold depth — on this coast it is information, not a target.
- hāpuku / bass (groper)no minimum size · bag 5 (Southland, hāpuku + kingfish) / 3 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day · 🚫 In the Fiordland Internal Waters hāpuku and bass are NO TAKE. · Almost always sits below safe breath-hold depth — on this coast it is information, not a target.
- red / spiny rock lobster (kōura)no minimum size · bag 6 a day · From the Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) Internal Waters — max 3; the Fiordland three-day accumulation is 15 at most, labelled by day. · 🚫 Rock lobster is taken by hand only: spears and any puncturing device are banned, as are spring-loaded loops and lassos, and possessing a speared lobster is itself an offence (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 29(2)). Measure tail WIDTH: male 54 mm, female 60 mm; berried, soft-shell and unmeasurable ones go straight back.
- pāua (blackfoot abalone)min 125 mm · bag 10 (Southland) / 5 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day · 🚫 In the Waitutu Mātaitai Reserve all recreational pāua fishing is prohibited; in Fiordland there is no accumulation. · 🚫 Pāua is free-diving only: with underwater breathing apparatus you may neither take nor possess it — having a tank in the vehicle or on the boat while holding pāua is already an offence (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 48). A snorkel does not count as apparatus. · ⚠️ Before taking any shellfish check the NZ Food Safety biotoxin warnings — they change constantly and are separate from the fishing rules.
- kina (sea urchin)no minimum size · bag 50 (Southland) / 30 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day · ⚠️ Before taking any shellfish check the NZ Food Safety biotoxin warnings — they change constantly and are separate from the fishing rules.
- red moki (nanua)min 40 cm · bag 15 (Southland) / 5 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day
- marblefish (kehe)no minimum size · bag 5 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day · inside the combined limit 30
- yellowfoot pāuamin 80 mm · bag 10 (Southland) / 2 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day · 🚫 Pāua is free-diving only: with underwater breathing apparatus you may neither take nor possess it — having a tank in the vehicle or on the boat while holding pāua is already an offence (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 48). A snorkel does not count as apparatus. · ⚠️ Before taking any shellfish check the NZ Food Safety biotoxin warnings — they change constantly and are separate from the fishing rules.
- green-lipped mussel (kūtai)no minimum size · bag 25 (Southland) / 10 (Fiordland Marine Area) a day · ⚠️ Before taking any shellfish check the NZ Food Safety biotoxin warnings — they change constantly and are separate from the fishing rules.
Law
- •There is no in New Zealand: MPI states plainly that you do not need one to fish in the sea — only fresh water needs a licence. The rules are REGIONAL, though: the country is split into eight rules areas with different sizes and limits. Selling, buying or swapping recreationally caught seafood is prohibited.
- ✓Three species may not be taken with a SPEAR anywhere in the country: rock lobster, salmon and trout. For rock lobster it is an express rule — using a spear to take one, and possessing a speared lobster, are both prohibited, with a fine up to NZ$10,000 (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 29(2)). Salmon and trout are freshwater sports fish managed by Fish & Game.
- ✓AN IMPORTANT CORRECTION to a common belief: no nationwide scuba ban for spearfishing was found in the MPI rules. The only breathing-apparatus prohibition is for PĀUA: it may be neither taken nor possessed while you have apparatus, even if the tank is merely in the car or on the boat (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 48). A snorkel is not apparatus, and what forbids rock lobster is the SPEAR, not the tank. An absence of prohibition is not a permission: ask MPI before you go.
- •: the MPI rules list only rubber-powered spearguns, slings and pneumatics as gear, and say neither yes nor no about or explosive tips. The nearest provision is the Fisheries Act 1996 offence of using a hazardous substance or an electric device to take fish; whether a cartridge-fired falls inside «hazardous substance» could not be established. Treat the question as UNRESOLVED and do not carry a as permitted gear. No time-of-day restriction was found in the MPI rules.
- •How to measure and where to check: fish length is measured from the tip of the nose to the middle of the tail fin — that is TOTAL length, not to the fork, which is why kahawai, trevally and kingfish so easily come up undersize. Rock lobster is measured by tail WIDTH, pāua by the greatest straight-line length of the shell. Rules change often: MPI itself asks you to check before every trip, through the NZ Fishing Rules app. Poaching: 0800 4 POACHER.
- •Southland: combined finfish daily limit 30. Blue cod 10 a day, min 33 cm (in the Southern area it may be landed headed at 24 cm). Butterfish, blue moki, trumpeter and tarakihi 15 each. Pāua 10 at 125 mm, mussels 25 (50 at Stewart Island). Scallop season 1 Oct – 15 Mar, 10 a day at 100 mm. The Pikomamaku (Womens Island) and the Ulva Island – Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve are closed to all fishing.
- •Weather: MetService coastal forecasts and gale warnings — metservice.com/marine/coastal, areas: foveaux, puysegur, chalmers. Fishing rules change: check MPI or the NZ Fishing Rules app before every trip.
- ⛔ 🚫 Absolutely protected under the Wildlife Act 1953: white, basking, whale, oceanic whitetip and smalltooth sandtiger sharks, oceanic manta and spinetail devil rays, giant grouper and spotted black grouper, plus black corals, gorgonians, stony corals and hydrocorals. Marine mammals sit under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978. Penalty up to NZ$250,000 and six months.
- ⛔ 🚫 Marine reserves (Marine Reserves Act 1971) are total no-take by any method, spearfishing included; so are areas protected under the Conservation Act 1987. and run on their own bylaws, and a is a temporary closure under the Fisheries Act 1996 with a real fine as well as a tapu. Check local bylaws and current before you go — they change several times a year.
- ⛔ 🚫 The Fiordland Marine Area is the strictest place in the country for a spearo: inside the fiords the limits for most reef fish collapse to 1. In Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) blue cod is no-take, in the Internal Waters so are hāpuku and bass, and scallops and dredge oysters are closed across the whole Marine Area. Black and red coral may not be touched. The Pikomamaku (Womens Island) and the Ulva Island – Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve are closed outright.
Rules change and are regional. Before heading out, check with MPI (regional fishing rules / the NZ Fishing Rules app), DOC (marine reserves) and local notices (rāhui/mātaitai).
Safety protocol
- Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
- Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. On a rocky/boulder shore a 0.5 m rise in swell can make the exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer.
- Headland rip: prominent points often have a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
- Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
- Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
- Afternoon wind: on many coasts the wind builds from midday — plan to be out of the water by midday; the chop builds — get out.
- UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
- Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.
FAQ — spearfishing in Stewart Island (Oban)
Where can I spearfish in Stewart Island (Oban)?
Stewart Island (Oban) has rock entry points such as Halfmoon Bay (Oban), Horseshoe Bay and Ackers Point. Rakiura — remote, clear, cold water off Oban/Halfmoon Bay, superb pāua and blue cod. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Stewart Island (Oban)?
Summer (Dec–Mar) — cold, rough Foveaux water; rare windows, harsh conditions.
How cold is the water in Stewart Island (Oban)?
Summer 9–13 °C — 7 mm / drysuit; cold Foveaux.
Is Stewart Island (Oban) good for a beginner?
Very hard: cold, rough Foveaux — rare windows.
Do I need a licence in Stewart Island (Oban)?
No — New Zealand has no recreational sea-fishing licence, so anyone may spearfish at Stewart Island (Oban); MPI's size, bag and gear rules still apply and they are regional (the combined finfish daily limit is 20). Crayfish and pāua are free-dive only — taking them on scuba is banned nationwide — spearfishing is banned inside every marine reserve, and mātaitai, taiāpure and rāhui must be respected. See the guide.
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