Led by Ocean Census, NIWA and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, a team of scientists spent 21 days investigating the unexplored Bounty Trough ocean system off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The three-week voyage on NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa was the first flagship Southern Hemisphere expedition for Ocean Census, a global alliance to accelerate the discovery and protection of life in the ocean founded by The Nippon Foundation and UK ocean exploration foundation Nekton.

The team of scientists from NIWA and Te Papa in New Zealand collaborated with experts from the UK and Australia to collect almost 1,800 samples from as deep as 4,800 metres underwater along the 800-kilometre-long Bounty Trough.

Ocean Census Science Director Professor Alex Rogers, who co-led the expedition, says he’s been impressed with the sheer biodiversity of life they’ve discovered: “It looks like we have a great haul of new, undiscovered species. By the time all our specimens are examined, we will be north of 100 new species. But what’s really surprised me here is the fact this extends to animals like fish – we think we’ve got three new species of fish.”