A huge marlin caught off the coast of Northland last week has been captured in a video that's now been viewed nearly 4000 times.
A.J. Heijns captured the group loading the massive marlin - weighing nearly 350kg that took about three hours to catch - into a van.
The video prompted angry responses from people on Heijns' Facebook page - one of whom knew the group.
"I come from a fishing family and have a marine degree but I still agree it's not worth keeping," the person said.
"Protection of reproductively viable adults is crucial for the conservation and protection of the fisheries and species."