Our fishes team have won with the highest award for zoological publishing – the first time a Kiwi book has even achieved this honour.

The Fishes of New Zealand has been awarded the 2016 Whitley Medal by The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.

The medal is regarded as Australia’s highest award for zoological publishing and this is the first time it has been won by a New Zealand publication.

The encyclopaedic illustrated guide identifies and explores the 1,262 known species of fishes living in New Zealand waters. It identifies many newly discovered fish species, including more than 140 that are new to New Zealand.

Written and edited by Te Papa’s fish team, Clive Roberts, Andrew Stewart and Carl Struthers, the four-volume book was published after decades of collecting and research by the three Te Papa scientists, in collaboration with more than 40 specialists worldwide.

Author Clive Robert says ‘we all worked very hard to produce a comprehensive, detailed and practical guide for the benefit of New Zealand, Australia, and the international science community.’

The Whitley Medal was presented to Roberts, Stewart and Struthers in a ceremony at the museum in Sydney on 22 Sep by the Australian Museum’s Ichthyology Collection Manager Mark McGrouther.

Find out more and buy The Fishes of New Zealand book