Conservation Department staff will be patrolling whitebaiting sites and talking to whitebaiters throughout the season to ensure people are complying with fishing regulations.
The department (DOC) is reminding whitebaiters to brush up on those regulations as the 2017 season begins.
It runs from August 15 until November 30 everywhere except the West Coast of the South Island, where it runs from September 1 to November 14.
Whitebait are juveniles of five species of native fish: giant kokopu, banded kokopu,
shortjaw kokopu, inanga and koaro. Those that escape the whitebait net grow into adults ranging from 10 to 60 centimetres long. They spawn in streamside vegetation.
DOC freshwater scientist Jane Goodman says whitebait are iconic in New Zealand.