Recreational fishers are the second of the stakeholder groups with an interest in the eel fishery. Currently recreational eel fishing is assumed to occur at very low levels, but with the increasing ethnic diversity in New Zealand and the access to eels, this situation has the potential to change. Recreational fishers use a variety of methods to capture eels. Eels are frequently caught as a bycatch of trout and coarse fish anglers. Coarse fish anglers make a point of releasing eels alive.
Recreational fishing has to be catered for in any management regime.
The committee recognises recreational fishers as legitimate users of the resource who share some rights as the other resource users, however they must also share the responsibility for the conservation and sustainability of the resource. This section of the plan addresses the issues and concerns associated with the recreational eel fishery and how recreational interests will be incorporated into its management. Because there are no clubs or organisations that specifically represent recreational eel fishers, their involvement in the management of the fishery is limited. In order to incorporate recreational interests into the management of the fishery, information is required on the nature and extent of the recreational catch. A method to overcome the lack of knowledge about the nature and extent of the recreational catch is to conduct a survey of recreational fishers in general.