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Fish

Latest news

Freshwater species show vulnerability to climate change

15 September 2020

A new study has identified seven freshwater species native to Aotearoa-New Zealand that will likely be highly or very highly vulnerable to climate change.

NIWA scientists make salmon farming breakthrough

Media Release

9 September 2020

NIWA scientists have made a breakthrough that may underpin expansion of the high-value New Zealand salmon farming industry.

Researchers on hunt for fish nurseries

Media Release

7 August 2020

NIWA researchers are heading out from Tasman early next week to survey an area thought to be home to important juvenile fish nurseries.

Getting the taste for kingfish

Feature story

28 July 2020

This award-winning kingfish sashimi dish is creating quite a splash – but it doesn’t come from the sea. We look at NIWA’s latest aquaculture success story and the new opportunities it’s on path to deliver.

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.

Maniapoto Cultural Assessment Framework

Maniapoto Māori Trust Board and NIWA worked collaboratively during 2018-19 to support Ngāti Maniapoto whānau to reconnect with and participate in the assessment of their freshwater according to their values.

Tonga’s 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.

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.

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.

Developing tools for sustainable aquaculture

New Zealand’s green credentials are a key selling point for aquaculture products in an increasingly discerning world market. With the aquaculture industry poised to expand, we need robust tools to manage potential environmental impacts, including those of new finfish species. NIWA’s sustainable aquaculture programme addresses this need.

Aquaculture and Biotechnology Update 01, September 2010

Welcome to the first e-newsletter from NIWA's National Centre for Aquaculture & Biotechnology. Here, we'll bring you news of aquaculture and biotechnology research at NIWA, and forthcoming events and workshops.

Hāpuku

Using its broad base of capability, NIWA is creating a new aquaculture species for New Zealand - hāpuku - for sale in the world's fine dining sector.

Aquaculture & Biotechnology Update

Welcome to the newsletter for NIWA's National Centre for Aquaculture & Biotechnology. Here we'll bring you news of research discoveries, new initiatives, courses, and events in these exciting and commercially-orientated fields.

Aquaculture and Biotechnology Update 01, September 2010

Freshwater ID guides

These guides are designed for rapid identification of freshwater flora and fauna for use in biomonitoring.

Bay of Islands ocean survey enters next phase

5 August 2009

Inshore and onshore biodiversity sampling activity is about to commence in the Bay of Islands as the Bay of Islands Ocean Survey 20/20 project enters its next phase.

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.

University of Waikato and NIWA: Karori perch pests successfully culled

11 March 2009

In a collaborative study, echosounder surveys of the lower reservoir at ZEALANDIA, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, show that electro-fishing and netting have successfully reduced perch numbers in the conservation safe haven.

NZ Freshwater Fish Database Help

Learn how to use the New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database (NZFFD)

What risk from alien fish?

Koi carp – a high-risk alien species. (Photo: NIWA)

The risk posed by alien fish to our freshwater species and habitats can now be evaluated using a model developed by NIWA scientists. The Freshwater Fish Risk Assessment Model (FRAM) assesses the risk of new alien fish species becoming established in New Zealand, and, importantly, their capacity to damage the environment, giving an overall ‘ecological risk’.
FRAM is powerful and simple to use.

Issue 27, 2008

Epic Antarctic voyage complete: analysis begins

Applying the science: didymo

Major port biosecurity surveillance underway

What risk from alien fish?

Yellowtail kingfish

NIWA is at the forefront of kingfish aquaculture research and is readying for commercial production to capitalise on this potentially lucrative market.

First fossils of extinct native fish identified

22 November 2005

Two fossils discovered in the Ormond Valley, near Gisborne, have been identified as a mysterious extinct native fish, the grayling or upokororo. They represent the first known fossils of New Zealand grayling.

Scientists carry out Biosecurity NZ survey for clubbed tunicate (Sea Squirt)

13 October 2005

Scientists from NIWA are diving in Waitemata Harbour to establish precisely how far an invasive sea squirt, known as the clubbed tunicate (or Styela clava), has spread.

What lives in that stream?

6 September 2004

Scientific records of at least 104,000 samples of New Zealand’s freshwater fish, invertebrates, algae and other aquatic plants are now available at the click of a mouse.

Chemical prints finger fish

20 May 2003

A technique that collects chemical ‘fingerprints’ from the ear bones of fish to help scientists identify which estuaries they originated from could have important implications for the management of New Zealand’s local fisheries, said an article in the latest issue of Fisheries & Aquaculture Update, published by NIWA’s National Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Fishers' help sought for tagging programme

30 April 2002

If you hook yourself a tagged blue cod, NIWA would like to hear from you.

Keeping tabs on our native eels

4 July 2001

New tags that are attached by a tough nylon thread could finally solve the mystery of where New Zealand‘s freshwater eels spawn.

Dinosaur technology keeps track of fish

27 March 2001

The same technique used to create the frighteningly life-like dinosaurs in the BBC documentary 'Walking with Dinosaurs' is now being used to help monitor New Zealand’s fish populations.

No smolt release or catch in local rivers by Glenariffe Salmon Farm

29 April 1999

An agreement in principle has been reached for the sale of the Glenariffe Salmon Hatchery currently owned by NIWA, to Rakaia Salmon Limited. The new company wishes to raise salmon for the market by using the hatchery raceways. Initial concerns by environmental groups over potential capture of young salmon for the farm from the Rakaia River will not be an issue.

Numbers of fish increase in Kapiti Marine Reserve

3 March 1999

The abundance and sizes of fish within the Kapiti Marine Reserve have impressed research divers who have just completed a survey to assess how well the marine environment has recovered since it was protected in 1992.

French-NZ science collaboration covers eels, albatrosses and submarine landslides

26 February 1999

French researchers are now, or soon to be, closely involved in a range of New Zealand environmental and marine studies taking in such diverse activities as migratory problems of fish including eels, the foraging habits of royal albatross in southern oceans, and the potential tsunami impact of undersea landslides.

Crayfish to enter the computer age

2 December 1998

Crayfish living along the Abel Tasman National Park coastline will be introduced to the silicon chip age later this month.

Fish kills off Kaikoura linked to toxic algae

2 March 1998

New findings by scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have revealed that the death of kina, starfish, and possibly other fishes, in late January and early February off the Kaikoura coast appears to be linked to toxic algae.