Police officers arrive at Gulf Harbour on Tuesday. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Police are hoping a post-mortem on a plastic-wrapped body fished out of the Gulf Harbour will provide answers about the death.
Recreational fisherman Paul Middleton recovered the bag and alerted police after finding the remains inside.
Detective Inspector Tim Williams said the investigation was still at the very early stages.
"Our priority is to establish the identity of the deceased and what has led to their death."
Cordons at the scene have been removed and Williams said they have spoken to people in the area at the time the discovery was made.
"We would also encourage any residents in the nearby coastal area that saw anything suspicious to contact us."
Middleton was in the Whangaparaoa area hoping to land some decent-sized kahawai or snapper.
"I [threw] my lure out ... and nothing much was happening but there was a bag out there," he said.
Watch the interview with Paul Middleton here (warning - contains some graphic details):
He said at the time he did not know it was a bag, and thought it was a log or a dead animal.
"Anyway the wind changed, brought it into the coast. I think yeah, anything floating in the water brings fish around, so I'm targeting it. I got that perfect shot, like millimetres to the side of it."
He hooked it and pulled it into the shore.
Paul Middleton hands over his fishing rod to a police officer. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
He struggled through "layer and layer" of plastic to open the bag.
There was "a bit of clothing ... and then there was this hand sticking out".
It was at that point that he called police.
"Two cops turned up and they thought I'd actually said there's just a hand in a bag and then they went down there and went, 'Oh no we've got a body'," Middleton said.
He said he did not try to open the bag further once he discovered the hand.
Anyone with information that could help with police inquiries is asked to contact them on 105, using reference number 240312/9837 or go online using 'Update my report'.
