With more than 15,000 kilometres of coastline and nowhere in Aotearoa further than 130 kilometres from the sea, is it any wonder that recreational fishing is such a popular pastime here? More than a million New Zealanders fish each year, not to mention the overseas visitors that come for that very reason. So if you’re angling for a fishy tale  — it was THAT long, honest — this collection has it covered: from snapper and marlin in the north, to groper and salmon in the south, and plenty of fly-fishing in-between. 

Roving Maori chef Pete Peeti finds himself on Rakiura/Stewart Island in this instalment of his long-running te reo based cooking series. The area has kai moana in abundance, but Peeti is interested only in the rich orange flesh of the salmon. Following an entree of cream cheese and smoked salmon pate, the episode’s main course is a tour of the offshore sea-cage salmon farm at Big Glory Bay. It stocks 900,000 Chinook or King salmon — less one, which features in a Thai curry (with a side dish of sashimi) prepared for Peeti by the farm’s supervisor.

This Christmas 1989 episode of the TVNZ teen magazine show sees newbie reporter Nadia Neave on Stewart Island to meet a crayfisherman, an artist and a conservation worker. Reporter Kerre McIvor (nee Woodham) quizzes David Lange about quitting as PM, as he prepares to drive in a street race. Natalie Brunt interviews Cher songwriter Diane Warren. Dr Watt (DJ Grant Kereama) looks at solvent abuse, and future Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan joins a trio of young actors (including Tandi Wright) to give tips on overseas travel. Graeme Tetley (Ruby and Rata) was a series writer.

In this bilingual cooking series made for Māori Television, globetrotting chef Joe McLeod presents international dishes combined with New Zealand ingredients and elements of traditional Māori cuisine. In this episode, fish is the order of the day as McLeod prepares pan fried groper fillet, a southern crayfish medley, salmon and potato cakes, and Fijian baked fish on succulent vegetables. The less piscatorial desserts include crepes with diced mango and apple, vanilla custard with a tangy mango jelly, and lemon and honey cake. 

In this bilingual cooking series made for Māori Television, chef Joe McLeod calls on a career that has taken him to 36 countries to present international dishes combined with NZ ingredients and elements of traditional Māori cuisine. In this debut episode, he adapts one of his mother’s favourite dishes from his childhood as he substitutes salmon for her Taupō trout, and serves it with pūhā, dried kawakawa leaves and a simple Māori herb sauce. The programme’s main course is liver sautee with a tangy lemon herb sauce, and the dessert is a peach and plum trifle.

A rod and rally race is the angle for this 1969 light comedy. Legendary angler ‘Maggots’ McClure lures “glamour boy” lawyer and fishing novice Applejoy (Peter Vere-Jones) into a contest to catch three trophy fish in Russell, Taupō, and Waitaki. The old dunga versus Alvis ‘Speed 20’, north versus south duel transfixes the nation; snags, shags and scenic diversion ensue. Directed by noted UK documentary maker Derek Williams, the caper was made with NFU help and funded by energy company BP. It showed with Gregory Peck western The Stalking Mood in New Zealand theatres.

Wildtrack was a highly successful nature series for children, running from 1981 through several series to the early 90s. The series was produced from Natural History New Zealand’s (then TVNZ’s Natural History Unit) Dunedin base and this final episode for 1990 looks at the natural world of the Otago Peninsula and harbour, from unique inhabitants: royal albatross, fur seals, and yellow-eyed penguin; to myth-busting explanations of the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, lichen, and mudflat cricket. It includes the year’s bloopers reel.