On 1 July 2025, NIWA merged with GNS Science to become Earth Sciences New Zealand.

Oceans

NIWA aims to provide the knowledge needed for the sound environmental management of our marine resources.

  • Great Humpback Whale Trail

    Here is an insight into what Auckland University’s whale research team is up to in The Kermadecs.
  • From shallows: moving from the familiar shores of Raoul Island to lesser known higher latitude Islands

    Over the last few days the “dive team” have been recording corals, fishes, urchins and other invertebrates from the shallow waters (0-30m) surrounding Raoul Island to complement the biodiversity records from the deeper ocean collected by the other scientists onboard.
  • Koha goes home – NIWA returns lost turtle to Kermadecs

    Media release
    A critically endangered turtle today began a two-day journey back to its home in Rangitāhua, the Kermadecs.
  • Beautiful Browns

    An interactive guide to the large brown seaweeds of New Zealand.
  • New NIWA Biodiversity Memoir on the diverse primnoid corals of New Zealand

    News article
    Our latest 131 page NIWA Biodiversity Memoir is an initiative of the US/NZ Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) Marine and Ocean Theme.
  • New Zealand sea lions and the threat of misinformation

    Media release
    New Zealand is lucky to have its own sea lion. They were nearly driven to extinction more than 150 years ago by the first human settlers and then by commercial sealing—a story shared with nearly all seals.
  • Critter of the Week: The flowering seapen

    Anthoptilum grandiflorum (Verrill, 1879) is a species of Pennatulacea, or sea pen, in the octocoral group of Cnidaria. Octocorals are so named because they have 8 tentacles to each of their polyps.
  • Penguins reveal unknown swimming talents

    Media release
    The remarkable long distance swimming abilities of penguins have impressed NIWA scientists who have tracked almost 100 birds over winter in the Southern Ocean.
  • The decline of New Zealand’s sea lions

    Research Project
    The main breeding population of New Zealand sea lions at the Auckland Islands has halved in size since the late-1990s; NIWA scientists are working with the government and experts from around New Zealand and overseas to understand why.
  • Critter of the Week: The prickly king crab

    The prickly king crab, Paralomis zealandica, is a member of the family Lithodidae, a mainly deepwater crustacean group that is probably better known by many people for its tasty leg meat.
  • Spatial management of the Ross Sea

    The fishery is managed differently depending on the region and specific environmental protection and fishery management objectives in the region.