Out-of-place Queensland groper
seen off New Zealand coast after water temperatures soared
Eleanor Ainge Roy in
Dunedin
Tue 29 May
2018 01.53 BSTLast modified on Tue 29 May 2018 03.16 BST
Rare tropical fish from Australia
have been spotted in New
Zealand waters after a record-breaking hot summer and
warm ocean temperatures lured the creatures across the Tasman sea.
The Queensland groper, also known
as the giant grouper, is the aquatic emblem of the state and was spotted
swimming around the wreck of the HMNZ Canterbury in the Bay of Islands on
Sunday, more than 3,000 kilometres away from its usual cruising spots on the
coral reefs and estuaries off the Queensland coast.
New Zealand experienced its
hottest summer on record this year, largely propelled by a “marine heatwave”
during which sea temperatures rose as much as six degrees in some areas, and
2-4 in the region where the groper was spotted.
Figures released by the National
Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research found the average temperature
during January was 20.3C – more than three degrees above normal.
The Queensland groper, a bony
fish that can grow up to three metres long and weigh 600kg, is a protected
species in Australia, was spotted and recorded by a skipper from Paihia Dive, a
small coastal town in the far north of the country.
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