Aussie invader's phallic fascination

JUSTIN LATIF/Western Leader

FISHY BUSINESS: AUT researcher Jeremy Barker with an oyster incrusted rock where the australian oyster blennys like to live. Inset: The tiny fish has a specific diet.

JUSTIN LATIF/ Western Leader

AUSTRALIAN OYSTER BLENNY: The tiny fish has a specific diet

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An Australian immigrant with a penis fetish is terrorising the Waitemata Harbour.

Barnacles living along the rocky shore of the harbour are being targeted by the australian oyster blenny.

AUT University student Jeremy Barker says the unusual looking fish targets the barnacle’s phallic appendages.

And he wants to know why.

"We have found a large number of penises inside their stomachs," he says.

"It’s not killing the barnacles but it will stop the next generation being produced."

The 34-year-old is working on his master’s degree in applied science and is researching the species in an effort to find out how far it has spread.

The fish’s diet isn’t the only thing unusual about it.

They also prefer living inside dead oyster shells.

This mean’s Jeremy spends many hours trudging across mud flats, battling the wind and rain to find the tiny species.

"It’s bloody frustrating," he says.

"I’m from Wellington so I’m not used to all this mud.

"The other guys doing their master’s are out catching sharks, or digging up dead whales – but I’m usually stuck out here by myself.

"One time I started to sink into some quicksand and mud so I had to crawl out on my hands and knees."

The researcher hopes to carry on his investigation into the oyster blenny as part of a doctorate.

"This study has some applied nature to it and I think it could make some sort of difference," he says.

"It can be a difficult environment to work in but it really is exciting researching stuff that no one else has looked at."