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Rescue helicopter - Source: ONE News
Police in Southland say they are scaling down the search for a missing fishing boat and its two crewmen off the Fiordland coast.
The two men have been identified as the 60-year-old skipper of the vessel The Governor, Kevin Cosgrove, and his crewman, Nirvana Drew Reynolds, 16.
The search began on Saturday after police were notified that their vessel was overdue to dock in Milford Sound.
Initial inquiries revealed the boat had earlier informed another vessel that its net was snagged near Yates Point, north of the Milford Sound mouth.
Three fishing vessels and two helicopters equipped with night vision goggles and thermal imaging equipment searched until about 8:40pm when bad weather forced an end to the operation.
The search discovered an oil slick three kilometres northwest of the entrance to the popular tourist spot at around 5pm on Saturday.
Later on, a life raft and life ring were also found 9km off shore, south-west of Milford Sound.
Local fishing vessels, a helicopter and a float plane continued to scour the sea and the shoreline on Sunday.
Fish bins and pieces of wood were discovered at about 3pm on Sunday in the tide line about 36km south-west of Yates Point
The search on Sunday focused on the Yates Point area.
The Search and Rescue Management Team at Invercargill and Te Anau are discussing the possibility of using police divers to look for wreckage in that area, which could be at a depth of 40 metres.
Authorities said at the time of the incident there was an easterly wind, and also a large amount of fresh water coming from the Sound due to heavy rain in recent days.