"What's alarming is not what's left in the water, it's what has gone."

New Zealand has a consistently high rate of boat ownership per capita and with the Hauraki Gulf on the doorstep of our biggest city, recreational fishing is a popular past time.

We investigate how the recreational fishing catch is measured by science, whether the fishing limits are too generous and how recreational fishers can fish better. We look into marine reserves, the many forms they can take and the various opinions on them.

This series was first published on Stuff. It is made with funding from NZ on Air and GIFT Gulf Innovation Fund, a Foundation North Initiative.