NIWA’s new research vessel, Kaharoa II, will be in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park/ Ko te Pataka kai o Tīkapa Moana Te Moananui-ā-Toi over the next three weeks, filming underwater habitats.

The survey will be the maiden science voyage for the new vessel, which was officially christened by Minister Judith Collins last week.

The research is being done on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand and is supported by the Department of Conservation and Seafood New Zealand. It 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 says 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. We can see what’s happening in real-time, and this has been improved by the new fibre cables onboard Kaharoa II," says Dr Morrison.

As well as 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 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 that we know very little about.

"Restoration of marine habitats and ecosystems requires knowledge of what is there now. Without this information, it is not possible to set proper restoration goals and objectives," says Dr Morrison.

"A Hauraki Gulf Marine Park-wide survey of this intensity, range of habitats, and depth span has not been done before. Additionally, this voyage will return to some locations previously sampled by NIWA in 2015 with towed cameras, to see if or how the undersea landscape and biodiversity has changed."

Fisheries New Zealand’s acting Director of Science and Information, Dr Rich Ford says the Hauraki Gulf is important to all New Zealanders and its waters and islands are home to a diverse range of species.

"The next-level camera technology onboard Kaharoa II will provide a better view of the species and habitat that live below the surface, and give us valuable baseline data to support longer-term monitoring and management of the Hauraki Gulf," says Dr Ford.

Kaharoa II will be operating in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park from August 27 to September 10.