An urgent aid mission will get underway today to drop vital supplies to a kayaker attempting a solo trip across the Tasman Sea.

Interislander management have refuted claims by NZ First leader Winston Peters that the ferry Aratere has blown an engine on its return voyage from Singapore.

Conservation Minister Nick Smith says the risk to the tiny number of Maui's dolphins from a new block of land listed for oil and gas exploration is 'small'.

"This is Waiheke's Springbok Tour," says John Hawkesby, the bon vivant who has become the mouthpiece of dissent on the former hippie outpost of Waiheke Island.

A kayaker who capsized in wild Northland weather last night was embarking on his usual 10-minute commute home from work.

An elderly man is in serious condition in hospital this morning after he was ambushed by a seal at a New Plymouth beach.

Danielle Wright's last words to her parents were "bye, see you in three months". But she would never see them again, and a year later mystery surrounds her final days.

The highly prized sport fish bonefish is found on shallow, clear flats in tropical waters including the islands throughout the Pacific Ocean.

The sole survivor of the Easy Rider fishing boat tragedy that killed eight people pleaded with a judge to be merciful during a company owner's sentencing today.

The last remaining 55 of world's rarest species of dolphins could disappear within three decades if New Zealand doesn't act now, wildlife advocates say.

Underwater sea creatures are not usually a feature of the New Zealand Boat Show, but this year one exhibit is departing from the usual surface dwelling crafts to prove there is excitement below the surface, too.

The parents of the German teenagers presumed drowned in Foveaux Strait are returning home and say they know they are leaving their daughters behind.

Superyacht firms say their multi-millionaire customers will sail off to Australian shipyards for lucrative refit and service contracts if Auckland does not develop more deep-water facilities.

A monster kingfish surprised a party of snapper fishermen last weekend when it swallowed a bait meant for snapper. The 36kg king took the piece of pilchard on a flasher rig by the Noises and was eventually subdued on the light 10kg breaking strain line.

Snapper can still be found around Auckland, but they are only in patches and the best way to find them is to look for changes in the temperature of the water.

Alarming declines in patronage on Auckland ferries have been blamed on a double-counting blooper stretching back to 2011.

Rugby isn't the only thing that matters to former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry. The World Cup-winning coach has put out the call for people to help raise funds for training some of the emergency heroes of the sea.

No one had known just what kind of weapon lay hidden off the coast of the South Island. Behind the unlikely facade of a harmless sea sponge lurked a fearsome cocktail of chemicals that had evolved over billions of years.

Snapper fishing is still going well as seasons change and fish can be found just about anywhere.

A new partnership between tourism agencies and the marine industry aims to double spending by wealthy superyacht owners and their crew to $190 million a year.

The deputy headmaster, Kang Min-gyu, in charge of the 236 missing students was found dead.

Anglers looking for a dinner of fresh fish over the long weekend don't have to go past the harbours at the moment.

A new report says the missing Malaysia Airlines plane was 'thrown around like a fighter jet' - flying drastic manoeuvres in a bid to dodge radar.

After a week of optimism over four underwater signals believed to be coming from the missing Malaysian plane the sea has gone quiet.