Skip to main content

Story: Freshwater fish

Giant kōkopu

Image
Giant kōkopu

The giant kōkopu (Galaxias argenteus) is New Zealand’s largest fish in the family Galaxiidae. The largest known specimen was 58 centimetres long and weighed 2.8 kilograms. More commonly adults are around 30–40 centimetres. They occur widely in lowlands, favouring wetlands and weedy or boggy slow-flowing streams. This fish was captured from Horseshoe Lagoon, South Canterbury, in 2004.

Using this item

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10056099

by Sjaan Chateris

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Bob McDowall, Freshwater fish – More galaxiids, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/11115/giant-kokopu (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Bob McDowall, published 1 March 2009.