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Story: Open ocean

Hoki fisheries and spawning grounds

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Hoki fisheries and spawning grounds

Hoki are widely distributed throughout New Zealand waters. They spawn in winter in deep-water canyons off the South Island. The developing hoki feed on zooplankton and grow quickly if food is plentiful. As they grow they migrate to fisheries (feeding grounds) around the subantarctic islands (south-east of New Zealand), and to waters above the Chatham Rise (east of the South Island).

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: R. L O'Driscoll, Areas of importance for spawning, pupping or egg-laying, and juveniles of New Zealand deep-water fish, pelagic fish and invertebrates. Wellington: NIWA, 2003.

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How to cite this page

Janet Grieve, Open ocean – Fish larvae and the ocean environment, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/5360/hoki-fisheries-and-spawning-grounds (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Janet Grieve, published 2 March 2009.