Four Tongans are among seven fisherman whose bodies have been recovered after their vessel capsized in New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour yesterday. Another two Tongans were among three survivors.

New Zealand police said today that all the men who died were Pacific Islanders, except for the skipper, William McNatty, whose body had been recovered.

Inspector Willi Fanene said the deceased, aged between 31-59 years old, were four Tongans, one Samoan and one Cook Islander. One person missing, believed to have also died, is a Cook islander.

Three survivors were yesterday plucked to safety by Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter were taken to North Shore Hospital and later discharged.

"Of survivors two are Tongan and a third probably a Cook Islander," said NZ Police.

"A victim identification process is underway. This involves working with family members to identify the deceased and support them during this time. As you can image its extremely upsetting. …This is a national maritime tragedy and our thoughts are with them all."

He said the victim's names will be released once they were all identified and were sure that the families had been notified.

"It's New Zealand's the largest maritime tragedy in recent time with multiple victims," said the NZ Police spokesperson.

 They were a group of friends who liked fishing together and had chartered the "Francie" a 12m boat, which was owned a skippered by a local man Bill McNatty.

The Francie was reported missing at 3.30pm on Saturday after the boat failed to make a scheduled radio contact. Eleven people were on board near the harbour's treacherous bar crossing, in swells of 1.5m and heavy winds, in the harbor located north west of Auckland.

A search started immediately and continued into the night. The bodies of the victims were recovered from the sea and on the shoreline.

Police said that a shoreline and aerial search was underway, Sunday, to locate and recover the missing person.

Investigators are working to establish what happened.

Police had been told there were life jackets on board, but did not yet know if they were being worn.

Volunteer lifesavers reported that the surf was huge as they searched for survivors. They saw debris outside the surf break but said that nothing much was left of the boat.

Victims named

Two of the Tongan victims have been identified as Tongan cousins Alipate 'Pate' Manumu'a and Sunia 'Junior' Onga'unga, according to a New Zealand Herald report on Sunday evening. The cousins, both in their 30s, were fathers.

Manumu'a had three children, the eldest aged seven years. Onga'unga had four children.