The Auckland Council has approved two large wharf extensions into Waitemata Harbour for port use - without notifying the public or councillors.

It was the cartoon frog that caught my eye. It was smiling - beaming, even - and the lines above the eyes highlighted the fact that this was one happy little amphibian.

Councillors will be asked to permit the port company to reclaim 2ha of harbour every 10 years into the future, writes Brian Rudman.

Three years after he crashed the Costa Concordia, former captain Francesco Schettino will learn this week if he is to spend most of his remaining years in prison.

A plan to rearrange the uses of Auckland's downtown wharves, including a new cruise ship terminal on Captain Cook wharf, is going to an Auckland Council committee.

"Who would leave a boat on autopilot in a harbour packed with boats fishing?" Police confirm an investigation into a yacht that knocked a man unconscious.

A 17-year-old girl was rescued from the Waikato River early this morning by a police officer who swam to save her before she went under.

The speed a snapper can reach could have implications for how tasty it is, researchers say.

Anglers are being given the chance to reel in the catch of their career - a $1 million snapper.

Eleven great white sharks have been spotted at a single site in the Kaipara Harbour - the largest concentration of the species yet seen in the upper North Island.

Four commissioners have been appointed to decide whether a resource consent should be granted allowing part of the Rena wreck to remain on Astrolabe Reef.

A mother and her son who were swept out to sea at a Hawkes Bay beach have been discharged from hospital and are back home recovering.

When Ian Waterson saw a mother and her child being swept out to sea he ran outside, jumped onto his 4WD farmbike and drove straight into the ocean.

A veteran yachtsman spent two cold, wet hours perched on the mast of his heritage yacht after it hit rocks and sank in the middle of the night.

The king penguins huddle together, protecting their eggs from the cold, as others waddle across the ice into the water.

Eddie Haretuku and Graham Tahiwi are not afraid of heights - which is good, because their port work can take them up to 30m off the ground.

Police have confirmed a body pulled from the water off an Auckland beach on Monday was that of missing swimmer, 24-year-old Johnny Perese Faitaua.

Ports of Auckland is probably one of the few ports to own and operate its own harbour pilot service, writes Phoebe Falconer.

Family and friends of a young Chinese man who drowned in Northland on Christmas Day are campaigning for bilingual warning signs about deadly coastal rips.

Searchers looking for a missing swimmer at a West Auckland beach found a body yesterday morning.

Agony for family of missing swimmer Johnny Faitaua after body found in the water near Bethells Beach, west of Auckland.

Family of missing swimmer hold vigil at Auckland beach as rescuers search coastline.

A second search has been carried out at daybreak for a man missing off O'Neills Bay on Auckland's west coast.

Sir Richard Branson sprays honeymooners Sir Ben Ainslie (right of group) and his new wife, Georgie Thompson, on Necker Island.

The Royal New Zealand Navy has discovered a third fishing vessel with illegal catch in the Southern Ocean.

Wondering how my local beach fared after a hot day with lots of human activity, I took my dogs for a run and did a spot of rubbish collecting along the shore and rock pools.