Book Review: Fishes of Aotearoa by Paul Caiger.

Seen and told through the eyes of a marine ecologist, but very much written for the general audience.

July 16, 2024

Aotearoa has a long and complex coastline scattered with islands, while lakes and waterways are woven through all of our landmarks

Warrick Powrie

I recently received a copy of Paul Caiger's new book, Fishes of Aotearoa.

My first thought was how heavy this book was, I then realised the book is a lovely hardback and will last my lifetime.
The cover sports a beautiful New Zealand coastal reef scene of two spotted demoiselles (Chromis dispila) schooling around an amazing outcrop covered in seaweed. It immediately grabs my attention, I am drawn to look inside.

Skimming through the pages I am impressed by the stunning images. The combination of full page and large images make it a lovely change to so many other books which I find hard to see some of the photos. The images pop out of the page as if I am underwater seeing them at 1/3 larger magnification.
There are many images of different species, including some freshwater pest species, of which I have had the displeasure of locating and the pleasure of eradicating from many waterways and lakes around New Zealand, using both electro fishing and bow hunting.

This tarakihi (Nemadactylus macropterus) and a couple of pohuiakaroa/ Jock Stewarts (Helicolenus percoides), along with koura/ crayfish (Jasus edwardsii) and countless hidden fish, congregate around even one small black coral (Antipathella fiordensis).

Paul has done an incredible job of including native freshwater and marine species, I feel this makes it a great all round identification book for budding ichthyologists.
I find myself hunting through the pages and trying to identify which species I have seen in my 16 years as an advanced technical officer at a university, within the freshwater and marine science field.

I am pleased to say that there are some species within this book I still have not seen. There are also some I have which are not located amongst its pages, (although, I have to say that these species are pretty hard to find and photograph). I feel the author has achieved a very comprehensive number of stunning images for this book.

I find myself reading about fish camouflage with mirror like scales for protection against predators, all the while wishing I was in the water and looking to spot these species Paul writes about. For a book to be able to draw me in, I feel the author has done an amazing job of recognizing the value of information but not too much scientific input which can make people steer away from some books!

In many instances predation can occur in plain sight, the hunter makes no effort to hide. Top piscivores (fish eaters) like this haku/kingfish (Seriola lalandi) slowly maraud through schools of fish, searching for weakness, such as an injured or distracted individual

"Seen and told through the eyes of a marine ecologist, but very much written for the general audience, Fishes of Aotearoa is a significant contribution to our appreciation of the colourful and characterful fish we are lucky to share this country with. "

At 199 pages this isn't the largest identification book I own, (that goes to an encyclopaedia of fish species of the Indo-Pacific), but this is an amazing book and very good value for money. At $79.99 from bookstores around NZ, this will make a good addition to your collection or start you on your path to collect more fish identification books in the future.
A big thank you goes to Pauline Esposito from Potton and Burton www.pottonandburton.co.nz for sending me a couple of copies to enjoy. I will be giving one FISHES of Aotearoa away to one lucky reader.