Blue Warehou
Blue warehou are a schooling, mid-water species found across central and southern New Zealand waters.
They turn up in good numbers around Cook Strait and the West Coast of the South Island, and are a legitimate target for spearfishers and recreational anglers working current-swept reefs near deep water.
Solid table fish with thick white fillets — a practical reason to chase them beyond the sport.
Scientific Name: Seriolella brama
Also known as Common warehou, warehou, snotty, snotty trevally
- Dark blue-green to steely blue on the flanks, fading to silver-white on the belly — easy to spot in the water column.
- A large, distinctive black blotch sits above the pectoral fin base; juveniles carry additional spots that fade with age.
- Very steep, smooth forehead and long pectoral fins that reach back to the anal vent — the clearest way to separate blue warehou from other warehou species.
- Most adults run 46–60 cm; fish can reach 90 cm, and weights of 1–3 kg are typical, with occasional fish to 4 kg or more.
What to know
Habitat Distribution
- Native to New Zealand and southern Australian waters; most common through central and southern New Zealand over the continental shelf at 5–250 m.
- Adults hold near the seafloor in deeper offshore water but move up in the water column — particularly at night — to feed.
- Juveniles school inshore, often in kelp forests and around estuaries, sometimes in association with jellyfish; adults prefer offshore reefs close to deep water with strong current.
- Cooler water is the consistent preference; the South Island coast and Cook Strait are the core recreational grounds.
Key Locations
- Cook Strait — a core commercial and recreational ground, with strong currents concentrating fish around offshore reefs.
- West Coast of the South Island — consistently productive, particularly in cooler months when fish are most active inshore.
- Wellington region reefs (Hunter Bank, Kapiti Island, Fisherman's Rock, Thom's Rock) — well-known aggregation points for adult schools near deep water.
Specific Spots
- Reefs that sit right on the edge of deep water and get good tidal current — blue warehou congregate here to feed on the plankton those currents concentrate.
- In the Wellington region, structures like Hunter Bank, Kapiti Island, Fisherman's Rock and Thom's Rock are known holding spots for adult schools.
- Juveniles hang in kelp forests close to shore, but adult schools near the coast are usually transient — they move through quickly and rarely return to the same shallow spot.
- Watch for the fibrous orange-brown excrement they leave in the water; it's a reliable sign a school is nearby even before you see the fish.
Blue Warehou FAQ
Answers from onWater's species guide.
What are the best lures and bait for Blue Warehou?
Small soft baits, strips of squid or fish flesh, and krill-style baits fished on light paternoster rigs work best, match the small, soft forage blue warehou are actually eating rather than reaching for large lures.
When is the best time to fish for Blue Warehou?
Available year-round, but schools are most reliably found inshore during spring and autumn when fish move up in the water column to spawn. Summer and winter fishing is possible but adult schools in shallow coastal water are more transient outside the spawning migrations.
How do you catch Blue Warehou?
Most recreational anglers target blue warehou from boats over current-swept reefs near deep water, using berley to draw schools up and bait rigs to intercept them. Spearfishers work the same reefs, using the fish's distinctive excrement as a visual cue to locate schools before diving.
What do Blue Warehou eat?
Salps (gelatinous, barrel-shaped plankton) make up the bulk of the diet, blue warehou are planktonic feeders, which means they're not chasing baitfish and won't respond to most conventional lure presentations the way a predatory species would.
Where do Blue Warehou live?
Native to New Zealand and southern Australian waters; most common through central and southern New Zealand over the continental shelf at 5–250 m. Adults hold near the seafloor in deeper offshore water but move up in the water column, particularly at night, to feed.
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