New species found

Scientists hope the discoveries of fragile new species in Fiordland will give the area strength to be recognised as a world underwater heritage park.

Twenty new species are believed to have been discovered after marine surveys of Fiordland's underwater "china shops".

The surveys are a collaboration between the Conservation Department and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

Niwa project leader ecologist Trevor Willis said he hoped the discoveries would help give the area more credibility.

"The more we know about it the stronger case we have for giving it recognition as a underwater heritage park," Dr Willis said.

Fiordland was relatively unexplored partly because of its remoteness and because the fiords' underwater depths reached 400m.

"We know more about the Antarctic than we do about Fiordland and it's on our own doorstep."

From what had been discovered, it had some of the most unique and diverse marine ecology in the world, Dr Willis said.

The areas explored were called china shops because they were designated as no anchoring zones under management plans implemented by the Fiordland Marine Guardians and DOC.

They were often sites where protected species such as black or red corals were present in high densities, or where other species are found much closer to the sea surface than usual.

The team would return to Fiordland next month to continue surveying the area but this time they would use a remote operated vehicle and a team of scientific divers equipped with underwater cameras.

They hoped to be able to take the vehicle to depths of more than 100m.

"We're going to do what no-one's really done before," Dr Willis said.

DOC marine ranger Kath Blakemore said Fiordland was a huge area to explore and they had only scraped the surface so far. It was a bonus finding new species.

The cost of surveying work to date and the next trip scheduled next month totalled $70,000 and was part of monitoring and research work in Fiordland, Ms Blakemore said.

Fiordland Marine Guardians chairman Malcolm Lawson said the discoveries highlighted why it was important to look after Fiordland.

amy.milne@stl.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News