Fish

In general the fish in Fiordland are similar to those found elsewhere around the New Zealand coast. There are some notable exceptions. The wavy-line perch is a deep water emergent and can be seen at depths as shallow as 5m in Fiordland compared with 100m off Tasmania.

The witch Arnoglossus scapa is the commonest of the flatfishes in Fiordland. Superbly camouflaged they can usually only be seen when they move. (44.64K)

So far only one endemic species has been found in Fiordland. This is the Fiordland brotula Fiordichthys slartibartfasti. The specific name comes from Slartibartfast, the being credited with designing the fiords in Douglas Adams' The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy".

Because shelter is limited and many fish are diver positive the fish life seems prolific. In places, schools of telescope fish almost black out the glow from the sky. Within minutes of dropping into the water a diver is checked out by swarms of butterfly perch and a number of blue cod. The blue cod get to be a pain after a while, particularly if you are a photographer.

The smaller fish such as the triplefins occur in large numbers. Blue-eyed triplefins and blue-dot triplefins are ubiquitous, while schools of the oblique swimming triplefin are often encountered. Some triplefin densities have to be seen to be believed. In some localities they occur in the LSL at estimated densities of 100 per square metre.

Wavy line perch are deep water emergents. In Fiordland we have found them as shallow as 5m while in Tasmania they are typically found at 100m or more. (24.80K)

Butterfly perch are constant and inquisitive companions on almost every Fiordland dive. (67.17K)

Male yellow black triplefins have sooty black heads, females are more uniformly yellow. Maximum sixe is around 75 mm. (40.70K)

Red banded perch are common in Fiordland where the low light levels usually ensures they can be seen at any time of the day. Elsewhere they tend to be more active at dawn and dusk. (62.61K)

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Last modified on Monday, September 04, 2000