Oceans

Sightings of the whales, the world's largest animal, are rare and they remain one of the planet's most elusive creatures. They were intensively hunted during the whaling era in the Southern Hemisphere, dramatically reducing their numbers.

People fishing in the Bay of Islands are being asked to keep a look out for a young hammerhead shark, nicknamed Orokawa.

Long-term datasets that track persistent change in the environment are a critical component of any modern ecosystem-based approach to natural resource management and sustainable growth.

Our freshwater fauna are wonderfully diverse and, according to NIWA Freshwater Ecologist Dr Richard Storey, there's nothing among them that we need to be afraid of.