Last checked: August 2026.
We could not find any New Zealand statute, regulation or agency guidance that names magnet fishing. What applies instead is general law — and one obligation in particular that most hobbyists have never heard of.
Start here: the taonga tuturu duty
This is the most important thing on this page, and it is placed first deliberately, because it is the rule most likely to catch someone out.
Under the Protected Objects Act 1975, a taonga tuturu is an object that relates to Maori culture, history or society, that was made, modified, brought to New Zealand or used by Maori, and that is more than 50 years old.
Three things follow:
- Found taonga tuturu are prima facie Crown property until the Maori Land Court determines ownership.
- The finder must notify the Ministry for Culture and Heritage within 28 days.
- The Ministry states that the duty is unaffected by the object's condition, whether it is broken, how common it is, its monetary value, the title of the land it was found on, or whether it was found accidentally or deliberately.
Manatu Taonga's own list of objects that could be taonga tuturu includes items a magnet could plausibly recover — carved firearms from the New Zealand Wars, and toki (adze).
Note the threshold is 50 years, which is much wider than the pre-1900 archaeological test below. To report a find: email taonga@mch.govt.nz with location information and photos, and take the object to a public museum to be registered.
Archaeological sites — and yes, they include water
The Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014 makes it unlawful to modify or destroy any part of an archaeological site without prior authority from Heritage New Zealand.
Three definitions in section 6 matter here:
- An archaeological site is broadly a place associated with human activity before 1900, or the site of a pre-1900 shipwreck.
- "Land" expressly includes "land covered by water" — so rivers, lakes, harbours and estuaries are in scope.
- "Modify" includes "to damage". The threshold is damage, not destruction.
New Zealand Police's own policy manual states the prohibition applies if you know or ought reasonably to have suspected the site is an archaeological site, "regardless of whether... the land on which the site is designated or the activity is permitted under the District or Regional Plan, or a resource or building consent has been granted".
Maximum penalties recorded in that manual: $150,000 for destruction and $60,000 for modification, for individuals.
Heritage New Zealand's position is that protection applies whether or not a site is recorded — so absence from the ArchSite database does not resolve the question.
If you find something old, leave it where it is
The official guidance is explicit: "If people find something, they must leave it where it is found and cover it up, if possible, before contacting Heritage New Zealand. When an object is removed, not only may it be an offence, but it undermines our understanding of context and history."
Manatu Taonga adds: known and suspected archaeological sites "must not be deliberately disturbed in order to find taonga tuturu".
Conservation land
The Department of Conservation requires permission to collect historic materials on public conservation land. Applications go to permissions@doc.govt.nz. Land status can be checked at maps.doc.govt.nz.
Whether DOC treats recreational magnet fishing as needing a permission specifically is not established — we found no DOC page addressing it. Ask before assuming.
Councils
We found no regional or territorial council bylaw specifically addressing magnet fishing. That is an absence of a finding rather than a finding of absence — councils publish large bylaw sets governing parks, reserves, wharves and public places, and these were not exhaustively searched. Check with the council that manages your spot.
Dangerous finds
Joint New Zealand Police and Defence Force advice: don't touch, leave the area and call 111.
An NZDF spokesperson: "If a member of the public finds an item that they believe may be explosive they should not touch or move the item in any way and call the Police in the first instance." Police add: "Better to call in a false alarm than potentially have one of these old devices explode and cause harm."
The NZDF Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit attends any part of New Zealand, 24/7. Their published material notes a callout where ordnance found by a member of the public was transported to another location, prompting evacuation of nearby properties and lockdown of a school. Do not move it.
Koiwi tangata (human remains): contact Police immediately. They will contact local iwi and Heritage New Zealand so that tikanga is followed before any removal.
Before you go
- Know the taonga tuturu duty. It is the one that applies most often and it has a 28-day clock.
- Check whether your spot is near a pre-1900 site — and remember protection applies whether or not it is recorded.
- Identify who controls the water: council, DOC, port company, private, or Maori land. Maori land is private and permission must be sought from the owners.
- Leave anything that looks genuinely old where it is, and report it.
This article is general information about published rules, not legal advice, and it is not a statement of what will or will not happen to you. Rules vary by site and by land status and they change. Always confirm the current position with the authority responsible for the water you plan to fish, and seek qualified legal advice if anything material turns on it.
