Tracking the Tākoketai

Black Petrel in flight

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: A long-term research and tracking project uncovering the migration secrets of tākoketai black petrel to drive smarter conservation across the Pacific. With only around 5,000 breeding pairs remaining, the tākoketai is one of our most at-risk seabirds, facing threats from fishing bycatch and habitat loss. Charting a course to […]

Hidden World of Hector’s & Māui Dolphins

Hector's Dolphins

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: Aotearoa is home to the world’s smallest and rarest dolphins. Groundbreaking science is revealing the secret lives of Hector’s and Māui dolphins, transforming how we protect these rare taonga. By uncovering where they go, how they feed, and the risks they face, we’re challenging long-held assumptions about their […]

Citizens of the Sea

Citizens of the sea yacht. credit James Frankham

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: A new citizen science project empowering sailors to map marine biodiversity and ocean health using cutting-edge technology Sailors collecting eDNA, create 3D coral reef models, and gather environmental data Insights from the Pacific aiming to advance understanding of climate change impacts and biodiversity loss globally Photo Credit / […]

New Tech for a Prickly Problem

Centrostephanus Sea urchins. Credit Arie Spyksma

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: Long-spined sea urchin taking over key ecosystems High resolution 3D models used to monitor impact Multiple monitoring sites in Northern Aotearoa Photo Credit / Arie Spyksma TRACKING THE RAPID 
EXPANSION OF CENTROSTEPHANUS   Marine life in Northern Aotearoa New Zealand is under threat with the sub-tropical long-spined sea […]

Restoring Flourishing Coastal Ecosystems

Snorkeller in kelp forest. credit Project Kahurangi

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: Kelp is vital for ocean ecosystems to flourish, creating habitats for marine life and is hugely efficient at fixing carbon. 50% of the kelp forest on shallow reefs around Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island are now kina barrens​ Active restoration efforts have shown ‘resetting the system’ can accelerate kelp […]

Seascape

Seascape photogrammetry. Credit Paul Caiger

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: New tool changing the way scientists survey the seafloor Engaging 3D models show what is happening underwater Better insights = better decision making Photo Credit / Paul Caiger BRINGING THE UNDERWATER 
REALM INTO FOCUS The work of Dr Arie Spyksma at the University of Auckland is bringing the […]

Marine Metre²

Marine Metre2 credit Josh McCormack

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: Citizen scientists surveying the seashore across Aotearoa 3D models using cutting-edge technology Collaboration tracking changes to the seashore over time Photo Credit / Joshua McCormack DIGITAL TOOL POWERS UP 
POPULAR CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT​ With rapid change being observed in marine ecosystems around Aotearoa New Zealand, connecting communities and […]

Uncovering the Mystery of Te Whai Rahi

manta rays

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: Deficiencies in data are making protection difficult Public sightings are providing vital information 650+ manta sightings reported in New Zealand waters TE WHAI RAHI OCEANIC MANTA RAYS With powerful wingspans of up to seven metres wide, these ocean wanderers don’t let their enormous two-tonne frame weigh them down, […]

Māra Moana

Undaria harvesting - John Kottier_03

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Funding Status:​ Location: Restoring native climate-resilient kelp in Lyttelton Harbour Collaboration between science, iwi, sport and conservation Kelp plays a vital role in a healthy marine ecosystem Photo Credit / John Kottier DEVELOPING CLIMATE RESILIENT
KELP IN WHAKARAUPŌ LYTTELTON In the South Island, kelp forests face different challenges than in the […]

Voyages of the Tohorā

Southern Right Whale Drone Photo

PROJECTS / Project Summary Project Status: Location: One of New Zealand’s greatest conservation success stories Southern right whales are now facing a new threat – the changing climate Research from the the world’s first global circumpolar study is being use to aid decison making and policy Photo Credit / Richard Robinson The Southern Right Whale […]

Postcards for the Gulf

We’re on a mission to create 1,000 postcards to protect the Hauraki Gulf and we need your help.

Send us your favourite ocean photo and a few words about what you love most about the Gulf, and together, we’ll spotlight why the Gulf deserves urgent protection – for us, and for future generations.