The Hyundai Big Wave Mission is being spearheaded by Campbell Farrell (36), who was the first New Zealander to surf Jaws - an 18m-24m break in Hawaii.
"Potentially, there may be some of the biggest surf in the world right at our back door."
Based in Hawaii, Farrell said he returned home every year to spend time in Central Otago, but this year he would head straight for the Fiordland coast if conditions looked favourable.
"Normally, the best time is during winter.
"However, storms can brew at any time, so we are on call 365 days a year for three years," he said.
Farrell had surfed in Hawaii for 12 years, and also surfed big wave surf breaks in Mexico, Tahiti and at Papatowai in the Catlins.
The first part of the big wave mission was to conduct a broad search of the Fiordland coastline, from Te Wae Wae Bay to Jackson Bay, to find "20ft surf with light offshore or no wind", he said.
Previously inaccessible to surfers, the Hyundai Big Wave Mission would use helicopters to locate possible locations.
"I think getting favourable local weather will be our biggest hang-up."
Once the area was explored by helicopter and possible locations found, some of New Zealanders leading surfers were keen to join the mission, which could be as soon as this winter.
"There are big waves off the coastline of New Zealand and we have the New Zealand surfers able to tackle these waves. I believe Kiwis ought to get out there and pioneer their own surf breaks."
With the potential for waves to reach 24m, the team would use jet skis not only to tow a surfer but also as rescue sleds.
Despite the surfers wearing lifejackets and wetsuits, surfing big waves carried "all sorts of dangers".
"I can tell the obvious dangers will be cold water with freezing stormy conditions, big waves, rocks and kelp, big sharks, isolation, equipment failure and the risk of drowning, cuts and broken bones that are always associated with surfing with or without big waves.
We will have an experienced medic with us if we return to surf."
If world-class waves were found, the area could become a drawcard for international surfers, he said.
"With the Internet, these days a surfer can be practically anywhere in the world watching the ocean waiting for a spot to get the right conditions.
"We are constantly monitoring the weather and the swells to see when the wave is on its way."
Former Dunedin man and Surfing NZ chief executive Greg Townsend said Fiordland "has the potential to be the best spot in the world".
If a big wave was found, it had "the potential to put New Zealand on the big wave surfing map".
