Fish

Latest news

Tangaroa heads back to sea – with social distancing

13 May 2020

NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa will sail out of Wellington Harbour on Sunday for the first scientific voyage since the lockdown.

The King of the Fish

Feature story

29 April 2020

Before fish Alvin Setiawan studied weta and penguins. These days he’s never far from the kingfish tanks at NIWA’s Northland Marine Research Centre at Bream Bay.

Extremely rare albino shark discovered in Auckland

Media Release

22 April 2020

A deep dive into the collection of an Auckland War Memorial Museum has revealed an extremely rare albino shark.

Giant squid and glow-in-the-dark sharks surprise scientists

Media Release

17 February 2020

A giant squid and several glow-in-the-dark sharks were surprise finds for NIWA scientists last month on the Chatham Rise during a voyage to survey hoki, New Zealand’s most valuable commercial fish species.

Our work

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.

Historical changes in juvenile fish habitats

NIWA is looking for people who have had a long association with the Hauraki Gulf or Marlborough Sounds to help them with a research project on juvenile fish habitats.

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.

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.

Latest videos

The world's most mysterious fish

A video about The world's most mysterious fish. NIWA researchers are working with iwi to try to unlock the secrets of New Zealand tuna—freshwater eels. Every year tiny, glass eels wash in on the tide at river mouths along our coast. But where do they come from and how do they get there?

Science on the high seas

Sustainable fisheries depend on good scientific data about fish stocks. NIWA scientists head out into Cook Strait on Research Vessel Kaharoa to survey the hoki fishery and advise officials on catch rates.

Freshwater fish swim their all for science

The tiny inanga have been plucked from Waikato streams and held in a darkened laboratory for the last month, undertaking highly advanced testing to find the strongest, fittest and fastest fish.

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.

The frozen menagerie

Feature story

23 December 2019

Just past the locks, alarms and big heavy doors is a rather macabre sight.

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.

Making Waves - June 2020

NIWA is currently working closely with stakeholders to ensure that our research and advice are applied to maximum effect to assist with the recovery after COVID-19.

Tangaroa heads back to sea – with social distancing

Media Release

13 May 2020

NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa will sail out of Wellington Harbour on Sunday for the first scientific voyage since the lockdown.

The King of the Fish

Feature story

29 April 2020

Before fish Alvin Setiawan studied weta and penguins. These days he’s never far from the kingfish tanks at NIWA’s Northland Marine Research Centre at Bream Bay.

Extremely rare albino shark discovered in Auckland

Media Release

22 April 2020

A deep dive into the collection of an Auckland War Memorial Museum has revealed an extremely rare albino shark.

The world's most mysterious fish

Giant squid and glow-in-the-dark sharks surprise scientists

Media Release

17 February 2020

Science on the high seas

Science of the high seas

Feature story

1 February 2020

Ever wondered what fish is served in a Filet-o-Fish at MacDonald’s? It’s hoki. Fish fingers at the supermarket? Chances are, they’ll be hoki too.

Gone fishin'

Feature story

1 February 2020

If you want a healthy fishing industry, you need to know how healthy your fish stocks are. Sam Fraser-Baxter talks to a scientist who went to sea to find out.

Unlocking the mysterious marine life of eels

Feature story

1 February 2020

Tiny, translucent eels may hold the answers to one of the fish world’s great mysteries. Zen Gregor investigates.

Scientists brave winter in Antarctic waters

Media Release

14 November 2019

The New Zealand ship Janas has recently returned from a six-week winter research voyage to the Ross Sea where scientists made the first observations of developing Antarctic toothfish embryos.

NIWA to survey young snapper in Hauraki Gulf

Media Release

7 November 2019

NIWA is heading out into the Hauraki Gulf this month to carry out a survey of juvenile snapper– the first of its kind for 20 years.

Fish snack on microplastics

Media Release

22 October 2019

Microplastics are being fed to snapper, New Zealand’s most popular recreational fish species, at NIWA’s aquaculture research facility near Whangarei in a bid to establish some baseline data about how fish are being affected.

Researchers seek help on lobster catches

Media Release

16 October 2019

NIWA researchers are seeking the help of divers, snorkellers and lobster potters in the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty to learn more about how rock lobster are faring.

Scientists help lamprey to spread the love

Media Release

30 September 2019

Contraptions that resemble upside-down kitchen sinks have been placed in the Waikawa River in Southland to attract a notoriously elusive native fish species.

Scientists study eels by moonlight

Media Release

1 August 2019

Under the light of the moon where the river meets the sea, NIWA researchers are planning to catch tiny fish that are all but invisible to the naked eye.

Scientists look to solve the longfin eel's breeding ground mystery

NIWA freshwater scientists are pinning their hopes of solving an age-old mystery on 10 female longfin eels who have now begun an epic journey to their spawning grounds somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

Freshwater Update 81, June 2019

Freshwater Update 81 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles ranging from how NIWA scientists are solving the longfin eel migration mystery, how we're taking you diving with us at Fieldays, and a word from one of the editors of the new Lakes Restoration Handbook.

Scientists hoping to solve great eel mystery

Media Release

16 May 2019

NIWA freshwater scientists are pinning their hopes of solving an age-old mystery on 10 female longfin eels who are about to begin an epic journey to their spawning grounds somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

In a secret training location on the outskirts of Hamilton, a squad of whitebait is being put through its paces by fish scientists.

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