Experiencing Marine Reserves Fish of The Year 2024

Te Ika o te Tau 2024 is Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) fourth annual campaign to crown New Zealand’s most loved ika - fish.

Aotearoa is home to around 1400 marine fish species (~300 endemic!) and 54 freshwater fish species, many of which are declining or threatened. These are among some of Aotearoa’s most loved ika - the great ocean voyagers, the camouflage's, the freshwater migrants and the rocky reef dwellers! Te Ika o te Tau | Fish of the Year aims to raise awareness for some of the issues our ika face and teach people about the incredible biodiversity in our freshwater and marine environments.  

This year former winners whai repo/eagle ray and te whai rahi/oceanic manta ray watch on proudly from the hall of champions, while 43 other species compete to claim top spot. These range from freshwater minnows like the common bully to whale sharks, giants of the open ocean.

Ocean lovers across Aotearoa are putting together campaigns to elevate their favourite ika to the top of the pile! EMR founder Samara Nicholas is hoping for a strong showing from two exciting ika.

"For Fish of the Year I am backing two fish, the humble spotty/paketi as they are so reliable to 'spot' while out snorkelling and are actually endemic to New Zealand. I’m also getting behind the 'crested weedfish' as they are super rare to see, but I was lucky enough to find one this summer and they tell an interesting story about the declining state of our underwater forests, as they rely on healthy seaweed forests to hide in," says Nicholas.

Spotty are backed this year by Marine Invaders.

Visit the Fish of the Year website to see the full fish list and their Official Backers!

Voting opened on the 2nd of March, coinciding with the start of Sea Week! Voters will go into the draw to win a range of incredible prizes kindly donated by local organisations!

There are also prizes for the Fish of the Year colouring in competition, check it out here.
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