Quick Dips

Identifying Fishes

All New Zealand's sea and freshwater fishes -- expected to number about 1,200 known species by the year 2000 -- are to be identified and illustrated in a Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa research programme.

Accurate descriptions of species will provide information that will help lead to effective conservation, management and sustainable use of New Zealand's valuable and unique natural fish resource. The research programme is being conducted with Public Good Science Fund investment and carried out by museum scientists and over 40 specialists from here and overseas.

Te Papa's Curator of Fishes, Clive Roberts, says the known fish fauna of New Zealand has doubled during the past 15 years and continues to grow at 20-30 new species every year. At least 100 undescribed species that are new to science are in the national fish collection held by Te Papa.

"New Zealand has the fourth largest EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) in the world and though our fish fauna is rich and diverse, our knowledge of them is surprisingly poor," Roberts says. "Fishes are an important part of the New Zealand culture, natural heritage and economy -- seafood exports are worth more than $1 billion annually, and most need scientific names to be sold."

Because fishes unique to New Zealand are of great scientific interest, and widespread species in New Zealand waters are often valuable commercially, the specialist knowledge will contribute to a better global understanding of many fish groups.

"Our fish fauna is, therefore, a resource of both national and international importance," Roberts says.

Not only are new species of fishes to be identified, but about 50% of all known species need to be "redescribed" to enable accurate identification.

Roberts says the project will result in an illustrated publication and computer disk when completed in about 2005. The most recent comparable identification guide was published in 1872 and contained only 125 species. It is expected that the guide will become the standard identification tool underpinning all New Zealand's fish-based work, including fish and fisheries research, management, conservation and export.

The research work will be based on the national fish collection held by the Museum of New Zealand. This is by far the largest collection in the world from the New Zealand region. It was first started in 1869 and now comprises more than 155,000 specimens.