The Otago Students’ Spearfishing and Hunting Club (OSSHC) hosted a spearfishing competition to raise funds for Cyclone Gabrielle on Saturday at 7am.
More than 40 students and members of the public scoured Otago Peninsula in pairs to spear and gather as many of the target species as possible, which included kingfish, crayfish and blue moki to name a few.
Event organiser Adam Smith said the day was a "massive success" thanks to support from students and the community.
"A lot of things that needed to come together, like weather and conditions, did ... We were really chuffed with that," he said.
After a long day of spearing, competitors gathered on the University of Otago lawn at 3pm for a weigh-in, prizegiving and public fish auction.
Spearfishers Riley Green and Gabe Ross took the win after catching a 1.9kg crayfish and nine of the other target species. Both were awarded Ruku fins and an Ocean Hunter speargun.
The competition also included a "most meritorious fish" category, which was won by Alex Gardner for his blue warehou catch — he was awarded a pole spear.
Mr Smith said the haul was a great reflection of the biodiversity in Dunedin.
"The people who scored first, second and third all caught their fish in different areas of the peninsula."
The OSSHC raised a total of $3500 for Cyclone Gabrielle relief, with money collected from the fish auction and sponsor Ocean Hunter.
