Guest Work

Swimming with sharks

Guest Author • Jan 28, 2011

The latest in a summer series from NIWA… The rig shark can be found all around New Zealand at this time of year, from spring to summer. It is found in coastal waters, estuaries and inlets, down to a depth of 200 metres. Rig is most often served as the fish in ‘fish ‘n’ chips’. So if there’s a … Read More

Cockles and Pipis, alive, alive-oh

Guest Author • Jan 21, 2011

The latest in a summer series from NIWA… Pipi — fritter away your summer Over the long hot summer many kiwis will be digging deep in the sand for pipi. These yummy shellfish live buried in the sand and are free at the beach! They are distributed around the New Zealand coastline, including the Chatham Islands and, further afield, the … Read More

Lamprey – the vampire of the sea

Guest Author • Jan 20, 2011

A shy, slimy, ancient fish, that looks like an eel but isn’t. It has a circular sucker for a mouth, and feeds by rasping a hole in its victim’s fishy-flesh. It starts life in freshwater, spends most of its life at sea, but returns to freshwater to breed. It can be found all around New Zealand, in southern Australia, … Read More

Slippery devils — longfin eels

Guest Author • Jan 18, 2011

The latest part in NIWA’s summer series… Lurking in the depths of freshwater waterways, all around New Zealand, longfin eels are the most common fish in our rivers. The native longfin eel, at up to 1.6 metres in length, is something to be in awe of, especially when there’s a crowd of them — and they aren’t the most attractive … Read More

Kahawai, the people’s fish

Guest Author • Jan 13, 2011

The second in a summer series from NIWA… Kahawai are an iconic species for recreational fishers. They are fantastic fighters and are found in most coastal waters, harbours, and estuaries around New Zealand, in both the North Island and South Island. Many New Zealanders will have memories of catching kahawai in the summer with their granddad, in a small boat, … Read More

Canada's oil sands – navigating the rhetoric

Guest Author • Jan 12, 2011

by Eloise Gibson It’s a little-known fact in these parts that Canada has the second-biggest proven crude oil reserves in the world. Rather than gushing straight from a well, the thick oil is locked in a molasses-like mixture with sand, clay and water. The goo is mined and then purified using a process that is heavy on greenhouse emissions, energy … Read More

RIP: "Arch sceptic" Denis Dutton

Guest Author • Dec 29, 2010

Another Candle Goes Out…. By Vicki Hyde, Media Spokesperson, former Chair-entity, NZ Skeptics We´ve lost another light against the darkness, with the death of Denis Dutton. Denis was a founder member of New Zealand Skeptics, back in 1984 when it was known as the NZ Committee for Scientific Investigation of the Paranormal. For many years he was the face … Read More

Jellyfish – not really fish, mostly jelly

Guest Author • Dec 21, 2010

The first of a Summer Series from Crown research institute NIWA… Washed up like a jellyfish on the sand this summer? New Zealand has the moon jelly, spotted jellyfish, and lion’s mane, and all three jellyfish are prevalent in our coastal waters all around the country, and the ocean, at this time of year. Jellyfish have weak powers of … Read More