Spearos on the go this May

By Rob Harrison, President Spearfishing New Zealand & AIDA Master Freediving Instructor

When the whistle goes at Flaxmill Bay on the morning of King’s Birthday weekend, on Sunday May 31st 2026, a tradition that began in 1992 rolls into its 34th edition. The Mercury Bay Open is one of the longest-running spearfishing competitions in New Zealand, and for the divers who return year after year, it is far more than a competition. It’s a homecoming.

A midwinter pilgrimage

The Open has moved around Whitianga in New Zealand's Coromandel over the decades, but for most of its history it has been run out of Flaxmill Bay. And with good reason. The bay is sheltered enough to launch and retrieve boats safely in unpredictable winter conditions, and the weigh-in site behind the Eggcentric Café, on Peter “Herb” Herbert’s property, has become something close to a divers’ paradise. Boats, tractors to launch, filleting benches, drying racks, a fire hose to wash the salt off, and, crucially, a place for everyone to land at the end of the day, share a hot seafood chowder and one of Herb’s now-legendary pork roasts, and yarn about what worked, what didn’t, and what they should have done differently.

That central hub is what makes the Open special, says Todd Herbert, who has been part of the comp’s fabric since childhood. “Having a centre hub for everyone to come back to at the end of the day, having a yarn about what everyone’s strategies were and what they could have done better. That’s what makes this comp.”

Why King’s Birthday weekend?

The timing is deliberate, and it’s part of what gives the Open its distinct character. The King’s Birthday weekend comp is generally the last of the spearfishing season and falls in the depths of midwinter. The water is cold, the warmer pelagic species are scarce, and the weather can turn on you. It’s a challenge, and that’s the point.

“It keeps people involved through the year,” Todd explains. “It’s harder to get a few of the warmer fish, but there’s always a couple of teams that seem to pull through.” The comp draws people to Whitianga for another reason too: the Coromandel coastline offers some of the best diving in the country.

How the comp runs

The Mercury Bay Open is a six-hour swim comp. On the morning of the event, the area is decided at a briefing by the comp director, with input from the Mercury Bay Spearfishing Club. Anchorage selection comes down to weather and boat safety first. Once anchored, three boats are nominated to choose the start triangle, and divers must start and finish within it. When the whistle goes, it’s all swimming from there.

Spearos head off with their dive partners (for safety, divers always work in pairs), armed with a fish list pre-determined by the comp director. They share a single bag limit between them, with a maximum of two per species. The objective is simple: hunt as many species on the list as possible and return to the start triangle with your catch.

Scoring rewards skill over luck. Each fish earns 100 points plus 10 points per kilogram, with a cap of 8 kg of points per fish. As Todd puts it: “It takes far more skill to hunt many different fish than get lucky with a giant fish.” That format, more than anything else, defines what kind of diver does well at the Open.

A comp for everyone

For all its competitive edge, the Open has always made room for newcomers and juniors. The area is chosen to suit a range of skill levels, because the junior turnout is consistently strong. As Todd points out, “Upcoming divers are the future of this sport”.

Herb keeps space at Flaxmill Bay for divers to pitch a tent, which gives those on a tighter budget a way in. “It brings an epic atmosphere,” Todd says, “and gives people with a small budget a chance to get involved and feel a part of something special.”

That sense of belonging is what hooks people. Todd remembers being about 10 years old, standing among the divers who represented the country in spearfishing, watching them get locked in and focused before the start. “I was thinking, one day I want to be as good as them.” That year he won the under-18 junior division alongside his brother Dwane Herbert. “That was the beginning of an underwater obsession.”

A new generation steps up

That obsession is now passing to the next wave of competitors, and increasingly, women are leading the charge.

Ciara Slater, who works for one of the country’s best-known spearfishing brands, Wettie, is entering the Open this year with Elise Clynes. Ciara describes herself as a “baby spearo, still with my training wheels on,” but she’s already represented New Zealand at the Spearfishing Freshwater World Championship, where she did surprisingly well, enough to give her the confidence to keep stepping up.

“I want to challenge myself in a completely new environment and learn amongst some legendary people,” she says. She and Elise haven’t dived together competitively before, but Ciara rates her partner’s water skills highly. “The girl can swim. And when I mean swim, I mean SWIM. I’ll have to up my swim training to keep up with her.”

Her game plan? Stay tactical, stay present. “Whether it’s weedlines, currents, snooping or deep pinnacles, targeting a variety of species on the list will be priority. Not swimming around like a headless chicken.”

For Ciara, comps like the Mercury Bay Open are also where the female side of the sport gets built. “Being a female spearo with grit, resilience and determination (and giving the men a bit of shit) makes a perfect recipe for women to continue to be recognised in a male-dominated sport. There’s little hand-holding in this sport, and I’ve been encouraging more girls to get amongst so we can up the numbers. Competitions like the Mercury Bay Open are a place where all are welcome and can uplift each other, regardless of catch, age or gender.”

Mercury Bay 2026: The wishlist

We're now heading into the 34th edition, but the wishlist hasn’t changed much since the competition's inception. “Like every year, we all hope for good weather and everyone to return safely,” says Todd. “It’s always exciting to see the catches at the weigh-in. Usually you see fish that you didn’t see underwater and think, ‘where the heck did you get that?’ Mostly I hope to see a good turnout and love to see new faces in a much-loved, growing sport.”

Thirty-four years on from its first running, the Mercury Bay Open is still doing what it set out to do: bring spearos together at the tail end of the season, in a beautiful corner of the country, to test themselves against the cold, the conditions, and each other, then share a chowder and a yarn about it afterwards.

For a sport that prides itself on being lived rather than watched, that might be the most New Zealand thing about it.Click here for full event info, including where to enter, rules and scoringClick here for full event info, including where to enter, rules and scoring. Looking forward to seeing you there!