It comes as a Givealittle page has been set up and tributes have flowed for the trio.
Their deaths will be referred to the Coroner.
What happened?
The trio left Gisborne Harbour on Monday morning for a day fishing for bluefin tuna.
Two other boats did as well. Roger Faber, the president of Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club, was on one them.
“Unfortunately once the morning went on it got worse and worse and in late morning we started to pull the pin,” Faber said on Tuesday. “We hoped that they’d decided to come in earlier but then found that their trailer was still at the boat ramp and concerns came, and we decided to get in touch with police and Coastguard.”
That resulted in a major search and rescue operation including a helicopter, the Air Force and Coastguard.
“The three lads on board are all Gisborne locals, well-known to everybody. The skipper is a well-known local game fisherman,” Faber said.