From 1997 to 2008, a research programme to determine if fish assemblages in the New Zealand region could be classified into clearly identifiable communities based on their associations with each other and with environmental features was undertaken. The programme resulted in the creation of the Fish Communities Database, from which this dataset was extracted. The data set includes records from 1964 to 2008. These data have been used to show geographical and depth distributions of species from all research tows within the New Zealand EEZ since 2008. The main source of data was the Ministry for Primary Industries research trawl database.

This data collection contains water column observations from CTD probes and water bottles deployed by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and its predecessor, the New Zealand Oceanographic Institute. A variety of instruments where used in this dataset, including: Sea-Bird SBE 911Plus CTD

This data collection contains observations from CTD sensors attached fisheries trawls deployed by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries. Data was sourced from SeaBird MircoCAT SBE 37 instruments which were attached to the headlines of trawl nets as part of fisheries research programs. The data is processed using the SBE Data Processing software and only the downcast of the cast is retained (because of the turbulence of the water generated by the trawl gear once the trawl is underway. Measured variables are temperature, depth, and salinity. The sensors on the CTD are all regularly calibrated by the manufacturer, but data are not calibrated in-situ.

This data collection contains observations from moored instruments primarily from New Zealand and Antarctic waters deployed by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and its predecessor the DSIR. Data was sourced from a range of instrumentation over many decades, with primary measured variables including temperature, pressure, salinity, and current speed/direction. More recently, other chemical and biological variables may be found within data records. Data quality checking is variable but mostly quality controlled to remove bad data using visual checks on records – see individual un-subsetted files for specific information relating to contained data.