Tragic end to urgent search for three missing fishermen who disappeared while chasing bluefin tuna

Three fishermen reported lost while chasing bluefin tuna have been found dead in New Zealand.

Three bodies were found on the coastline near Mahia, south of Gisborne on the east coast of North Island on Wednesday morning.

The group went missing on Monday, sparking a rescue effort including coastguard and the defence force, which was hampered by treacherous weather.

Two people were seen in the water by a freight vessel on Tuesday afternoon, according to Maritime NZ, which said 'they were unable to rescue them due to the dangerously difficult weather conditions'.

'The vessel attempted to provide the men with any available rescue materials they could throw overboard including life rings and flotsam,' Rescue Coordination Centre general manager Justin Allan said.

Amid six-metre swells and 50-knot gusts, a NZDF P-8A Poseidon dropped a life raft into the sea in that vicinity later on Tuesday afternoon, before the search was paused at nightfall.

Police announced the discovery of the bodies early on Wednesday.

'Formal identification is ongoing, but they are believed to be the fishermen reported missing on Monday,' a statement read.

One of the men who was reported missing was identified as Elwood Higgins. 

Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club president Roger Faber said the fishermen were part of a group, including himself, which headed out on Monday expecting better weather.

'Over the weekend there we had some nice bluefin tuna caught out off Gisborne,' he told Radio NZ.

'The forecast was for five-knot winds all day, it was definitely a weather window...a few guys went fishing and we all communicated with each other'.

'Unfortunately the weather was nothing like forecast. We expected it to get better, it didn't get better, it got worse.

'We tried to contact the missing boat...when we returned to the boat ramp and found their trailer was still there that's when our concerns rose and we sounded the alarm.'

Mr Faber said the trio were all club members, experienced at sea, well-known and well-respected.

'The whole community, whanau and friends are all really suffering at this news...it was the worst thing that could have happened,' he said.

The storm has drenched the Hawke's Bay, Gisborne and Tairawhiti regions, prompting evacuations in some coastal communities.

A number of highways in the region are closed due to flooding and slips, including the key SH35 route, with crews also battling to restore power to a string of areas.

The same region was the hardest hit in last February's Cyclone Gabrielle, with nine people killed amid widespread damage to property and infrastructure.