Fisheries New Zealand's investigating after reports of illegal fish dumping near Great Barrier Island

A video posted to social media shows multiple dead snapper floating on top of the water.

North Regional Manager Andre Espinoza says they've identified a fishing vessel operating in the area and are making further inquiries, including a review of its onboard camera footage, catch reporting and GPS vessel tracking.

He says illegal dumping of fish from commercial vessels is relatively rare but they've have have recently prosecuted a Napier commercial fisher for a range of offences including discarding fish.