Fish

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As a young child growing up on an Irish farm, one of Eimear Egan’s chores was to regularly clean out the well from where her family drew its drinking water. In the well lived a large eel that, no matter how many times it was shifted, just kept coming back.

Underwater magician

Feature story

28 December 2018

Based at Bream Bay, Whangarei, Crispin Middleton is also an acclaimed underwater photographer and the recipient of numerous photography awards. His work regularly appears in New Zealand Geographic, dive magazines, scientific journals and conservation/ government documents.

Scientists spy on baby snapper in Hauraki Gulf

6 November 2018

NIWA researchers are out on the Hauraki Gulf this week to find out more about the nurseries of young snapper.

Migratory fish get helping hand

Feature story

3 September 2018

Humans don't always make it easy on fish to get where they are going. New Zealand's first national set of Fish Passage Guidelines – co-developed by NIWA - is expected to help.

Our work

New Zealand fish passage guidelines

The New Zealand Fish Passage Guidelines sets out recommended practice for the design of instream infrastructure to provide for fish passage.

Cultural Keystone Species - co-management and restoration of our freshwater taonga species

Māori communities around the country note that the abundance, size and/or distribution of tuna, kōura and kāeo/kākahi is declining and that current populations aren’t sufficient to meet their needs.

Improving Tonga’s deepwater demersal line fishery

NIWA is in its third year of a 5-year phased project on the deepwater line fishery in Tonga funded by the NZ Aid Programme’s Partnership for International Development Fund. The aim of the project is to deliver the improved governance, management, and economic and biological sustainability of the fishery focusing on deepwater snapper and bluenose in the Tonga EEZ.

Restoring Kōaro in the Rotorua lakes

The kōaro was once abundant in the Te Arawa lakes near Rotorua in New Zealand’s North Island. NIWA has assessed the viability of restoring this species in the region.

Latest videos

Ocean acidification —what is it?

The on-going rise of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere is not only changing our climate—it is also changing our oceans.
Take a look at the work of the NIWA-led CARIM project into what these changes may mean for the delicate balance of marine life.

Exploring the deepsea

Despite many centuries of maritime exploration, only a fraction of our planet's seafloor has been observed. NIWA Deepsea Scientist Di Tracey tells us what it feels like to probe deep beneath the waves to see what's living on the ocean floor.

Mesopelagic trawl from the RV Tangaroa October 2016 Kermadec Voyage

Mesopelagic trawl - off Kermadec Islands Oct 2016

Using a very wide net to complete a 960m deep mesopelagic trawl near the Kermadec Islands has brought up a large number and diverse range of deep water species.

Taking the pulse of Antarctica’s ocean ecosystem

Niwa scientists have anchored an echosounder to the sea floor of Terra Nova Bay that could reveal the mystery of silverfish reproduction under the Antarctic ice.

Underwater magician

Feature story

28 December 2018

Ocean acidification —what is it?

Voyage Update 5: sampling rattails and exploring vulnerable coral habitats in the MPA

3 February 2019. By Voyage Leader Dr Richard O'Driscoll.

Voyage Update 4: Toothfish habitat in and out of the MPA

29 January 2019. By Voyage Leader Dr Richard O'Driscoll.

NZ Freshwater Fish Database

The New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database (NZFFD) records the occurrence of fish in fresh waters of New Zealand.

Ross Sea Region Research and Monitoring Programme

The Ross Sea Region Research and Monitoring Programme (Ross-RAMP) is a five-year research programme funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and run by NIWA to evaluate the effectiveness of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area.

The eel earbone detective

Feature story

9 January 2019

Fish Passage Assessment Tool

The Fish Passage Assessment Tool has been developed to provide an easy to use, practical tool for recording instream structures and assessing their likely impact on fish movements and river connectivity.

Satellite Data Services

NIWA provides live satellite data for sea surface temperature and chlorophyll analysis for use by New Zealand's fishing industry.

Scientists spy on baby snapper in Hauraki Gulf

6 November 2018

NIWA researchers are out on the Hauraki Gulf this week to find out more about the nurseries of young snapper.

Migratory fish get helping hand

Feature story

3 September 2018

Humans don't always make it easy on fish to get where they are going. New Zealand's first national set of Fish Passage Guidelines – co-developed by NIWA - is expected to help.

NIWA undertakes an ambitious, complex seabed experiment

Media Release

7 May 2018

One of the most challenging scientific underwater experiments ever attempted by NIWA is taking place this month on the Chatham Rise.

Improving Tonga’s deepwater demersal line fishery

New Zealand fish passage guidelines

The New Zealand Fish Passage Guidelines sets out recommended practice for the design of instream infrastructure to provide for fish passage.

Blog: The inhabitants of the twilight zone of the open-ocean - 15 March

15 March 2018

Think about a futuristic world where at night time, people use different kind of self-propelled vehicles to hover across cities, illuminating the skies with different colours and shapes, while transiting around them.

NIWA expertise contributes to healthy hoki fishery

Media Release

28 February 2018

When NIWA fisheries scientist Richard O’Driscoll went to sea earlier this year, he and his team measured so many fish that laid end to end, they would have stretched for 31km.

Scientists send snapper to boot camp

Media Release

19 February 2018

At a laboratory just outside Whangarei, scientists are putting very young snapper through comprehensive physical testing - including a full medical check-up involving smell, hearing, vision, and even anxiety testing.

Hoki Survey, Chatham Rise Jan - Feb 2018

NIWA research ship Tangaroa has been chartered by the Ministry of Primary Industries to survey the Hoki fishery on the Chatham Rise during January and early February 2018.

Summer series 2017 - One fish, two fish…we're counting on you

Feature story

26 December 2017

“You almost become a fishing psychologist – you can tell by the way people walk up the ramp to get their trailer if they’ve had a good day.”

Warming ocean to alter ecosystems and affect fisheries by end of century, says NIWA scientists

Feature story

5 December 2017

Rapid warming of the ocean near Tasmania may provide a good indication of how the water around New Zealand will change as the planet warms, say NIWA scientists.

New science on inanga

The inward migrations of inanga (Galaxias maculatus) post-larvae back to freshwaters occur primarily in late winter and spring time where they are targeted as part of the whitebait fishery. In this study, we shed light on the relationships between growth attained in pelagic and freshwater environments.

Aquatic invertebrate traits database

Approximately 500 Aquatic invertebrate taxa are described in this database, made available to assist with the identification of specimens.

Double trouble from oyster pathogens

Feature story

8 October 2017

The spread of Bonamia ostreae from Marlborough Sounds to oyster farms in Big Glory Bay (Stewart Island) could spread to the valuable wild oyster population.

Revealing toothfish secrets

Feature story

5 October 2017

The Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Southern Ocean will help further research into the ecology of Antarctic toothfish.

Scientist makes new homes for baby paua

Media Release

15 August 2017

Twelve bespoke concrete structures resembling "upside down oven trays" may hold the key to restoring the paua population off Kaikoura wiped out by last November's earthquake.