A scaly gurnard photographed in Wellington Harbour. Photo: Supplied
An elusive native fish has been photographed in Wellington Harbour, one of the few times the species has been caught on camera in its natural habitat.
Victoria University of Wellington marine biologist Dr Valerio Micaroni snapped the shot on a research project with colleague Francesca Strano, exploring and identifying areas of the marine environment around Wellington's coast which need protecting.
The scaly gurnard was a reddish colour, and grew to about 20cm, Micaroni said. It was already known to live around Wellington, but sightings were rare.
"There's very little information about the location and composition of the animal dominated habitats in Wellington's waters, so the aim of our research is to describe these areas and identify places that need protection or restoration," he said.
Five sites in the harbour had been mapped so far, and the rare fish wasn't the only exciting discovery.
"At Shark Bay and Shelly Bay on the Miramar Peninsula, there's a diverse underwater garden of sea sponges," Micaroni said.
"Horse mussels and brachiopods - ancient animals that live on the sea floor - are also abundant."
Sponge gardens, which were typically found near the shore at depths of between seven and 15 metres, had also been spotted at Evans Bay, Kaiwharawhara and west Petone, although they were heavily impacted by high levels of sedimentation.
Another sponge garden and a red algae bed were found at Mahanga Bay.
The areas were initially explored using a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), followed by a closer search and some samples collected by diving at the sites, Strano said.
"So far, we've sent the ROV on 52 dives. That's given us a lot of valuable data about these ecosystems and the threats they face," she said.
"Lots of people have looked at the seaweed and kelp dominated areas in the harbour, but there's little data on the animal-dominated ecosystems so this project aims to figure out where they are."
The research was funded by the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the George Mason Charitable Trust, and data collected would be used to inform the council's marine policy and planning processes.