New Zealand's newest marine research vessel sails on maiden operational voyage

A new research vessel recently handed over to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research of New Zealand (NIWA) has sailed on its maiden operational voyage.

Kaharoa II will be in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park over a period of three weeks from August 27 to September 10 to film underwater habitats. The research is being done on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand and is supported by the Department of Conservation and Seafood New Zealand.

The voyage will focus on seafloor communities across reefs, sand, and mud habitats in what is one of New Zealand’s most valued and intensively used coastal spaces.

NIWA marine ecologist Dr Mark Morrison said the new technology on Kaharoa II will enhance how scientists conduct their work.

"We’ll be collecting baseline information on what habitats are present in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park using a state-of-the-art camera system to collect underwater imagery," said Dr Morrison. "We can see what’s happening in real-time, and this has been improved by the new fibre cables onboard Kaharoa II."

In addition to conducting daytime surveys, scientists will work during the night to capture images of fish sleeping on the seafloor and the nocturnal species that use the dark to forage. The vessel's underwater cameras are equipped with powerful lights, which will appear from the shore as lit up domes in the water in shallower areas.

The vessel will move from the shallowest parts of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park to the deepest edge of the shelf in the park, an area with a marine environment that remains largely unknown.