A Tongan man and a rugby referee are among the three fishermen whose bodies were found on the shores of Māhia this morning.

The Herald understands the three men are Elwood Higgins, Damien Macpherson and Taina Sinoti.

In a post on Facebook, Higgins’ friend Ethan Bryant said, “It’s chilling to the spine to wake up to this news that one of your own has been lost”.

“The world has lost one of the alpha slayers... Sure you’ll be up there still catching fish too big for ya boat.”

Riki Tana said “Big love to you bro Elwood Higgins slayer of all slayers”.

“Rip cuzzy Elwood Higgins..condolences to all my Higgins whanau.. love to all..”

Gisborne man Elwood Higgins has been identified as one of the men who died after their fishing boat went missing from the East Coast. Photo / Supplied

A man who appeared to be Sinoti’s father said “kuo’ ne tatau mai”, describing the death of his son in Tongan on Facebook, said Tongan-New Zealand online news outlet Kaniva Tonga.

Meanwhile, a Givealittle page has been set up by a family friend of Macpherson to cover the cost of his funeral and ongoing support for his wife Vivien and two children.

Macpherson was “a ray of light and love and laughter has been taken too soon”, the page said.

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“Damo leaves behind a devastated young family who have unexpected funeral costs to bear, as they try to renavigate their life that has revolved around him.”

Macpherson, 38, was a well-respected Poverty Bay rugby referee and a father of three.

Poverty Bay rugby referee chairman Hamish Campbell told Stuff that Macpherson, known as Damo, was a highly regarded and respected referee “known to many, many people across the district”.

“As good as he was as a ref, it was almost a minor thing compared to everything else he did in life. He was a dog triallist, he was on his kids’ school board, a lot of stuff. He was a great guy, he really was,” he said.

A police spokesperson said formal identification of the three men is ongoing, but they are believed to be the fishermen reported missing on Monday.

Poverty Bay Rugby referee Damien MacPherson has been named as one of the victims of the Gisborne fishing boat tragedy. Photo / Facebook

Two of the men were spotted alive in huge seas yesterday.

The staff at Maritime NZ and its Rescue Co-ordination Centre this morning extended their thoughts and condolences to those impacted by the tragic events off Gisborne.

Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club president Roger Faber was part of a group of people on three boats that went out on Monday. Two had turned back as the weather turned nasty, while the three fishermen were on the third boat, which went missing.

Faber told Three’s AM Show this morning the community would be “absolutely broken” to wake up to hear the three men’s bodies had been found - especially after two had been spotted alive.

“We all thought, ‘hey we’re going to have a great outcome’ - but to have this news this morning is absolutely devastating,” he said.

He added the worst part was being unable to do anything.

“Every boat in this marina would have been out searching if they possibly could have, but the conditions just haven’t allowed us to do that. It’s gut-wrenching.”

The Coastguard had to turn back last night before reaching the men, due to the weather conditions.

“I know those guys, they … pride themselves in being able to do the job,” he said.

“It would have been one of the hardest things they would have probably ever had to [do].”

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said it is very sad day for Tairāwhiti.

“As a community, we are in mourning and we are asking the community to give the families involved time to mourn their loved ones and to bring their men home,” she said.

“I know every person in Tairāwhiti would have known one of the men. They were much loved, well respected and will be missed.

“We will wrap our love around the families when they are ready.”