Overview
Biodiversity knowledge of the Ross Sea is considered critical to achieve the goals of the government’s The New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy (2000), improving our understanding of biodiversity to protect and enhance the marine environment.
There is a growing understanding of the importance of the Ross Sea and its indigenous marine life, including fishes. Antarctica is recognised as an insular evolutionary site with radiations of species flocks of icecods and snailfishes. The fish fauna has been described as having a high level of endemism similar to that found at the Galapagos Islands and in Lake Baikal. The Ross Sea is an important sub-region of the East Antarctic Province, supporting its own unique communities of fishes.