Fishery facts

A fishery is defined as a place with a large population of fish that people catch. Therefore, trout are the main fish that the Taupo Fishery is comprised of. The two main types of trout in the Taupo Fishery are rainbow trout and brown trout.

A common fallacy about the Taupo Fishery is that the trout are stocked in the region's waterways. The Taupo Fishery is a wild fishery, meaning that both the rainbow and brown trout populations are self-sustaining. Some of the confusion arises due to the fact that the Tongariro National Trout Centre's (TNTC) main purpose historically was that of a hatchery. During a large part of the 20th century the TNTC hatchery complex was used to stock New Zealand's rivers and lakes with fertilised trout eggs. However, since the mid-1980's the direction of TNTC has shifted from a hatchery role to a management tool used to raise public awareness about the value of trout and freshwater environments. Today, the TNTC hatchery is also kept functional as a safeguard for the fishery in the event of a natural disaster killing off a large portion of the trout population. Hatchery operations could then be reinstated in order to kick start the fishery back into life.

The Taupo Fishery is an extremely valuable natural resource to this region. Some of it's values include:

Physical value

for the quantity, size and condition of fish that make-up this wild fishery.

Recreational value

for the variety of fishing methods and geographic locations to fish from, including the opportunity for anglers to fish year-round. Approximately 45,000 anglers use the Taupo fishery every year.

Economic value

generates approx. $70 - $80 million for the local and national economy.

Community/social values

provides a significant business and employment opportunity to the region as well as offering a past time that is linked with knowledge sharing and cultural heritage.