By Annemarie Quill of 
Ministry for Primary Industries is warning of dead snapper floating in the sea off Auckland. Photo: Stuff / Andrew Barker
Hundreds of snapper are floating in the sea off Auckland, and are washing up dead or dying on beaches off the Hauraki Gulf.
Fisheries New Zealand is warning the public not to eat the fish "for safety reasons".
Local fishers had discovered the dead fish on 23 February and reported to the Ministry for Primary Industries.
"I've never seen anything like it before. Big fish too," said fisher Andrew Barker, who captured the phenomenon on video, and reported it.
When Barker shared the video to a fishing group on social media, there were calls to ban commercial fishing in the area, lamenting the waste of the "big buggers" that looked like they had been "dumped".
Fellow fisher Matt Fairbrother, who lives in the area, said it was becoming a regular occurrence.
"I saw heaps in the water at the beach. It's not the first time it's happened. I fish the gulf regularly and live in the area. It's a lot worse than people know about."
Hundreds had washed up at Tawharanui beach, Fairbrother said.
"Would have been over 200 dead fish just around the beach and it's a marine reserve."
Andre Espinoza, acting director compliance at Fisheries New Zealand, issued a warning to the public to report any suspicious activity and not to eat the fish.
"Over the next few days people can see fish floating or washed up on beaches, particularly Omaha beach.
"For food safety reasons, it's important that people do not eat any dead or dying seafood."
Officers had received a number of reports of "a large number" of dead snapper floating in the Northern Hauraki Gulf off Omaha Beach, Auckland, and were making inquiries with commercial ships in the area.
While the cause was still not yet known, samples of the dead fish have been taken, said Espinoza, which were all "legal sized, undamaged, and appeared to be in good condition."
Fisheries New Zealand tracks the movements of all commercial fishing vessels in real time.
This has enabled fishery officers to identify two vessels that were fishing in the area.
"Inquiries are ongoing," said Espinoza.
Fisheries officers were keen to hear about any "suspicious fishing activity", he said.
"If anyone has information about any suspicious fishing activity, we encourage them to report it to us."
People can report sightings on 0800 4 POACHER (0800 47 62 24).
* This story was first published by Stuff.
