Drone fishing in New Zealand

Will it get there and back?

Put in your own drone, your rig and the wind at the beach. The answer updates as you type.

How deep is it where you drop?

Land Information New Zealand is flying the coast with a laser that reads the seabed through the water. At 390 of our sea fishing places it has mapped the bottom, so each one shows the depth at 100, 200 and 500 m from the waterline and a drawing of the slope, out to 1 km where the survey reaches.

Open the map of places with depths. Each has a white centre; tap one for its seabed.

Or choose a region, then tap “Seabed mapped”

• Auckland 21 with depths
• Bay of Plenty 68 with depths
• Coromandel 53 with depths
• East Coast 41 with depths
• Nelson/Tasman 24 with depths
• Northland 63 with depths
• Otago 53 with depths
• Southland 19 with depths
• Taranaki 12 with depths
• Waikato 2 with depths
• Wellington/Kapiti 26 with depths
• West Coast 8 with depths

• It is one survey on one day, and each place says when. Rock, reef edges and the general slope stay put. Sandbars and gutters move in weeks, so don’t read this as today’s gutter.
• Depths are below about mean sea level, rounded to the half metre. The tide adds or takes a metre or so.
• Where the survey has a gap the line stops. Nothing is guessed, and most of the coast hasn’t been flown yet.

LINZ 3D Coastal Mapping ↗ Sourced from the LINZ Data Service, licensed CC BY 4.0. Read 11 October 2026.

The flying rules

A fishing drone is an aircraft, and the same Civil Aviation rules cover it as any other drone, wherever you fly. These are from AirShare, the hub the Civil Aviation Authority sends drone pilots to.

• Keep it in sight

  This is the rule that sets how far out you can drop. If you can’t make out the drone itself at the drop point, the flight is outside it, however good the picture on the screen is.

  Be able to see the aircraft with your own eyes (e.g. not through binoculars, a monitor, VR headset or smartphone)

• Daylight only

  No drops before dawn or after dusk, and none into sea fog.

  Fly only in daylight (unless shielded) and when visibility is good. Keep your drone in direct sight at all times

• Stay under 120 m

  A bait run needs a fraction of that. Low is also where the wind is lightest.

  Not fly your aircraft higher than 120 metres (400 feet) above ground level (unless certain conditions are met)

• 4 km from airports

  Many good beaches sit beside an airport or a helipad. Check the map on AirShare before you drive.

  Not fly closer than 4km from any aerodrome (unless you can meet special requirements)

• Not over people

  Walk along the beach until the line out to sea is clear of swimmers, surfers and other anglers.

  Don’t fly directly over people, unless they say it’s OK.

• Give way to aircraft

  Rescue helicopters fly low along the coast. If you hear one, land.

  Give way to all crewed aircraft

• Under 25 kg, and sound

  Salt gets into motors and release clips. A drone that was fine last season may not be.

  Not operate an aircraft that is 25kg or larger, and always ensure that it is safe to operate

AirShare: know the rules ↗ · Civil Aviation Authority: drones ↗

Letting the bait go

Releasing a bait from a drone isn’t banned. One rule governs it, rule 101.15 of the Civil Aviation Rules:

“The person must not allow any object to be dropped in flight if this creates a hazard to other persons or property.”Civil Aviation Rules, Part 101, rule 101.15(b)

A sinker and a string of baited hooks falling from height is a hazard to anyone underneath. Release over open water with nobody in it, and never fly a loaded rig over a swimmer, a surfer, a kayak or a boat on the way out.

Civil Aviation Rules, Part 101 ↗

Where you take off

• Conservation land needs a permit. Many beaches are backed by a DOC reserve, and DOC says: Drones are aircraft. All aircraft operating on conservation land need a permit. It applies to where you stand and launch as well as what you fly over. DOC: drone use on conservation land ↗
• Councils set their own rules for parks and beaches. Herenga ā Nuku, the Outdoor Access Commission, puts it this way: Each council makes its own additional rules regarding drone use in public spaces. Look up the council’s drone bylaw for the beach before you go. Herenga ā Nuku: drones and public access ↗
• Private land needs the owner’s say-so, to launch from it or to fly over it. The beach below the high-tide line is open to everyone; the paddock behind it isn’t. Our sea fishing places are the ones where a legal road or public land reaches the shore.

Birds, seals and dolphins

These are DOC’s conditions for drones on conservation land and waters. Away from DOC land they are still the distances to keep: disturbing a marine mammal is an offence anywhere.

• 150 m from seals and dolphins

  Seals, dolphins and whales. If one turns up between you and the drop, wait or move.

  fly no closer than 150 metres horizontally from a point directly above any marine mammal

• Not over nesting birds

  Dotterels, terns and oystercatchers nest on the open sand above the tide line through spring and summer. Launch from the wet sand and fly straight out.

  You must not fly the drone over roosting/nesting birds.

• 50 m from other wildlife

  That includes the gulls and gannets working the same fish you are after.

  Fly no closer than 50m from any wildlife.

DOC: drone operating conditions ↗

The fishing rules don’t change

1. A line dropped in a marine reserve is fishing in a marine reserve. It doesn’t matter that you are standing outside it. A drone reaches further than a cast, so check what lies off the beach, not just the beach. Reserves and high protection areas are in red on our sea fishing map; closures, mātaitai and taiāpure are in amber.
2. Hook numbers, bag limits and size limits are MPI’s. They differ between areas and they change, so look up the limits for where you are fishing in the free NZ Fishing Rules app before you rig up. NZ Fishing Rules app ↗ · MPI fishing rules ↗
3. Stay with the line. A rig 500 m out catches birds, seals and other people’s gear as readily as fish. Fish it, bring it in, and take every hook and metre of trace home.