Fewer than half of councils have enough staff trained to respond to marine oil spills.

Proposed new marine protected areas, rules for polluters and changes to commercial fishing methods have been revealed in a long-awaited master plan for the Hauraki Gulf.

Kaikoura's fur seals famously splashed and frolicked in a pool at the foot of a waterfall. And then the earthquake came.

Pat Huffman has raised thousands for charity through dedicated racing; a race director said she cheated in one of them.

The body of ill-fated Francie skipper Bill McNatty has been returned to his family.

Two Kiwis are aboard a fishing trawler missing off the coast of Queensland.

Police have led an extensive air, land and sea search for missing trawler reportedly carrying a Kiwi father-of-six.

The Government will urgently pass quake recovery laws which allow landslips in the South Island to be cleared into the ocean without consent.

Oamaru's little blue penguins have become international sensations with a video of them using an underpass clocking thousands of views.

The Wellington community took to the water in kayaks and held banners onshore today, to throw an "unwelcoming party" for oil companies

What's lurking beneath the surface in the Wellington Harbour?

Four months after beaching, there is no respite in sight for local residents as a whale slowly rots away on their nearby beach.

A Kiwi expedition to the far-flung Kermadec Islands has put scientists up close with some of the ocean's most fascinating residents.

A superyacht owned by Google billionaire Larry Page is back in Auckland for more work.

It's regularly voted one of the world's best, but Coromandel's Hot Water Beach is also New Zealand's most dangerous.

New Zealand has pulled off a huge international victory by securing the support of 25 countries to create the world's largest marine protected area.

The jobs of more than 100,000 New Zealanders are linked to the seas which circle the country.

Scientists taking a toll of the damage done to the Great Barrier Reef say large parts of formerly pristine coral has died.

A Government funded feasibility study is looking at the future use of the Whanganui Port. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

The Wakatere playground in Thames will soon be gone.

Watch NZH Focus: A Kiwi face transplant surgeon has lead his team in transplanting two donor arms to a retired marine who lost all four limbs in Afghanistan.

An Auckland architect has been fined $1500 after being caught fishing for snapper in protected waters north of the city.

Watch NZH Local Focus: Banned from sailing further until authorities deem him safe to travel, renegade South African yachtie, is apologetic.

Rescuers were hard at work in Browns Bay, Auckland on Saturday getting a stranded whale back into the water.

Mystery had surrounded the whereabouts of missing 20-year-old novice sailor who has been found 16km south of Cape Runaway.

Environmental groups have joined forces to urge Labour not to pull its support for the Kermadec marine sanctuary.

Seabed mining is back in the spotlight as Trans Tasman Resources submits second application for consent to mine off the South Taranaki coast.

Seabed mining is back in the spotlight as Trans Tasman Resources submits second application for consent to mine off the South Taranaki coast.

NZ's decision to monitor fishing practices with a watchdog owned by the industry would not be acceptable in US, Canada or Australia, Govt has been told.

A reef offshore from Patea is not being explored in order to find life forms that seabed mining could endanger - but that may be one