subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

island arc Island arcs are long archipelago, chains of active volcanoes with intense earthquake, seismic activity found along convergent boundary, convergent plate tectonics, tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have re ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

Raoul Island Raoul Island (''Sunday Island''; ) is the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, south south-west of 'Ata Island of Tonga and north north-east of New Zealand's North Island. It has been the source of vigorous volcanic activit ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec (12 September 1748 – 6 May 1793) was a French Navy officer. He took part in voyages of exploration in the Pacific Ocean under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, looking for the lost expedition of Jean-François de La Pérouse. ...

d'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux (; 8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Isle de France from 1787 to 1789. He is best known ...

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

lieu-dit ''Lieu-dit'' (; plural: ''lieux-dits'') (literally ''location-said'', "named place") is a French language, French toponymic term for a small geographical area bearing a traditional name. The name usually refers to some characteristic of the plac ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.ker'' means village, residence and ''madec'' a proper name derived from '' mad'' (which means 'good') with the suffix '' -ec'', used to form adjectives indicating a property. The Māori name is Rangitāhua which is also used for Raoul island.

History

As indicated by their name for the islands, Rangitāhua (), Polynesian people "stopped off" on the Kermadec islands in around the 14th century (and perhaps previously in the 10th century). Their arrival is also evident in the presence of introduced

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

and

candlenut ''Aleurites moluccanus'', commonly known as candlenut, is a tree in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It grows to about tall and produces drupe fruit. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, the species' origin is unclear due to its spread b ...

growing wild in certain areas of Raoul Island supported by its relatively warm climate. However, the first Europeans to reach the areaarriving on board the '' Lady Penrhyn'' in May 1788found no inhabitants on these volcanic islands. British, American and Australian

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

vessels cruised offshore in the 19th century and often visited the islands in search of water, wood and food. The first such vessel on record was the whaler ''Fanny'' that visited Raoul Island in 1823. On 1 August 1886, HMS ''Diamond''

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

the islands for the United Kingdom. European settlers have lived on the island for varying lengths of time, from the early nineteenth century until 1937, growing food for the whalers. The Thomas Bell family settled on the island from 1878 to 1914. One of the Bell daughters, Bessie Dyke, recounted the family's experience to writer Elsie K. Morton who published their story in 1957 as ''Crusoes of Sunday Island''. The islands were annexed to New Zealand in 1887 according to one source. However the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand states the annexation happened in 1886.

Raoul Island Station

The Raoul Island Station consists of a government

meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...

and radio station, and a hostel for

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

officers and volunteers, that has been maintained since 1937. It lies on the northern terraces of Raoul Island, at an elevation of about , above the cliffs of Fleetwood Bluff. It is the northernmost inhabited outpost of New Zealand.

Nuclear testing proposals

In 1955, the British Government required a large site remote from population centres to test the new

thermonuclear Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the release or absorption of ener ...

devices it was developing. Various islands in the South Pacific and Southern Oceans were considered, along with Antarctica. In May 1955, the Minister for Defence,

Selwyn Lloyd John Selwyn Brooke Selwyn-Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd (28 July 1904 – 17 May 1978), was a British politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 1971 to 1976, having previously hel ...

, on advice from the Admiralty report, concluded that the Kermadec Islands would be suitable. As the island group was part of New Zealand,

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

, who had recently become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, wrote to the Prime Minister of New Zealand,

Sidney Holland Sir Sidney George Holland (18 October 1893 – 5 August 1961) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 25th prime minister of New Zealand from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He was instrumental in the creation and consolidation ...

, to ask for permission to use the islands. Holland refused, fearing an adverse public reaction in the upcoming 1957 general election. Despite reassurances and pressure from the British government, Holland remained firm.

Geography

The islands lie within 29° to 31.5° south latitude and 178° to 179° west longitude, northeast of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, and a similar distance southwest of

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

. The total area of the islands is .

Climate

The climate of the islands is

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

, with a mean monthly temperature of in February and in August. Rainfall is approximately annually, with lower rainfall from October to January.

Islands

The group includes four main islands as well as some isolated rocks. These are: *

Raoul Island Raoul Island (''Sunday Island''; ) is the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, south south-west of 'Ata Island of Tonga and north north-east of New Zealand's North Island. It has been the source of vigorous volcanic activit ...

or Sunday Island is by far the largest of the islands. It lies south-southwest of 'Ata, the southernmost island of Tonga, and north-northeast of New Zealand. Raoul Island has an area of with numerous smaller satellite islands; its highest point, Moumoukai Peak, is high. *

Macauley Island Macauley Island is a volcanic island in New Zealand's Kermadec Islands, approximately halfway between New Zealand's North Island and Tonga in the southwest Pacific Ocean. It is part of a larger submarine volcano that features a wide underw ...

, the second largest, is located south-southwest of Raoul Island. Together with neighbouring Haszard Island, its area is . ** Macdonald Rock is about north of Macauley Island.Chart NZ 2225
, Hydrographic Office, Royal New Zealand Navy, 1994. Retrieved 7 May 2007. * Curtis Island, the third largest, lies south-southwest of Macauley Island. It reaches a height of and has an area of with neighbouring Cheeseman Island. * Nugent Island is the northernmost island. It is approximately across. *

L'Esperance Rock L'Esperance Rock, formerly known as French Rock and Brind Rock,(named after William Brind) is the southernmost islet in the Kermadec Islands, to the north of New Zealand. It is south of Curtis Island and northeast of East Cape on New Zealan ...

, formerly French Rock, is south-southwest of Curtis Island. It is in diameter, in area, and high. * L'Havre Rock, about north-northwest of L'Esperance Rock, is submerged except at low tide.

Seamount A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly a ...

s north and south of the Kermadec Islands are an extension of the ridge running from Tonga to New Zealand (see

Geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

). Star of Bengal Bank, south-southwest of L'Esperance Rock, has a least depth of .

Geology

The islands are a

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

island arc Island arcs are long archipelago, chains of active volcanoes with intense earthquake, seismic activity found along convergent boundary, convergent plate tectonics, tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have re ...

, formed at the

convergent boundary A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can be defined by a ...

where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate. The subducting Pacific Plate created the

Kermadec Trench The Kermadec Trench is a linear ocean trench in the south Pacific Ocean. It stretches about from the Louisville Seamount Chain in the north (26°S) to the Hikurangi Plateau in the south (37°S), north-east of New Zealand's North Island. Togethe ...

, an 8 km deep

submarine trench Oceanic trenches are prominent, long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor. They are typically wide and below the level of the surrounding oceanic floor, but can be thousands of kilometers in length. There are about of oceanic t ...

, to the east of the islands. The islands lie along the undersea Kermadec Ridge, which runs southwest from the islands towards the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and northeast towards

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

( Kermadec-Tonga Arc). The four main islands are the peaks of volcanoes that rise high enough from the seabed to project above sea level. There are several other volcanoes in the chain that do not reach sea level, but form

seamount A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly a ...

s with between 65 and 1500 m of water above their peaks.

Monowai Seamount Monowai Seamount is a Volcano, volcanic seamount to the north of New Zealand. It is formed by a large caldera and a volcanic cone just south-southeast from the caldera. The volcanic cone rises to depths of up to but its depth varies with ongoin ...

, with a depth of 120 m over its peak, is midway between Raoul Island and Tonga. 100 km south of L'Esperance Rock is the little-explored Star of Bengal Bank, probably with submarine volcanoes. Further south are the

South Kermadec Ridge Seamounts The South Kermadec Ridge Seamounts are a continuation of the volcanic island arc, formed at the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate. The subducting Pacific Plate created the Kermadec Trench, th ...

, the southernmost of which, Rumble IV Seamount, is just 150 km North of the North Island of New Zealand. The ridge eventually connects to White Island in New Zealand's

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

, at the northern end of the

Taupō Volcanic Zone The Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcano, volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand. It has been active for at least the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs n ...

. The islands experience many earthquakes from plate movement and volcanism. Raoul and Curtis are both active

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

es. The volcanoes on the other islands are currently inactive, and the smaller islands are the eroded remnants of extinct volcanoes. From 18 to 21 July 2012,

Havre Seamount Havre Seamount is an active volcanic seamount lying within the Kermadec Islands group of New Zealand, in the south-west Pacific Ocean, on the Tonga-Kermadec Ridge. Its 2012 Kermadec Islands eruption, most recent eruption took place in July 2012 ...

(near Havre Rock) erupted, breaching the ocean surface from a depth of more than 1100 m and producing a large raft of

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

floating northwest of the volcano. The eruption was not directly observed, but it was located using earthquake and

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring inform ...

data after the pumice raft was spotted by aircraft and encountered by HMNZS ''Canterbury''. The islands are seismically active. An 8.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in the early hours of 5 March 2021, leading to several strong aftershocks and a tsunami advisory on the North Coast of

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

and other Pacific islands, including Norfolk Island, Australia. Other magnitude 8 earthquakes have struck near the islands in 1917 and 1976.

Environment

Flora

The islands are recognised by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

as a distinct

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

, the Kermadec Islands subtropical moist forests. It is a

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in la ...

ecoregion, part of the

Oceanian realm The Oceanian realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms and is unique in not including any continental land mass. It has the smallest land area of any of the List of terrestrial ecoregions (WWF), WWF realms. This realm includes the islands ...

. The forests are dominated by the red-flowering Kermadec pōhutukawa, related to the

pōhutukawa Pōhutukawa (''Metrosideros excelsa''), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, or iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the Myrtus, myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow o ...

of New Zealand. The islands are home to 113 native species of

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignin, lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified Ti ...

s, of which 23 are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

, along with mosses (52 native species), lichens and fungi (89 native species). Most of the plant species are derived from New Zealand, with others having travelled over the Pacific. 152 human-

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

of plants have become established on the islands. Dense subtropical forests cover most of Raoul, and formerly covered Macauley. ''

Metrosideros kermadecensis ''Metrosideros kermadecensis'', with common names ''Kermadec pōhutukawa'' and New Zealand Christmas bush is an evergreen tree of the myrtle family which is endemic to the volcanic Kermadec Islands about north-east of New Zealand. The tree p ...

'' is the dominant forest tree, forming a 10 – 15-metre (30 – 50-foot) high canopy. A native nīkau palm (''

Rhopalostylis baueri ''Rhopalostylis baueri'' is a species of palm native to Norfolk Island (Australia) and to the Kermadec Islands (New Zealand). Norfolk Island is the type locality. The common names on Norfolk Island are 'Norfolk Island palm' or 'niau'. In New Ze ...

'') is another important canopy tree. The forests have an understory of smaller trees, shrubs, ferns, and herbs, including '' Myrsine kermadecensis''; '' Lobelia anceps'', '' Poa polyphylla'', ''

Coprosma acutifolia ''Coprosma acutifolia'', is a shrub that is native to New Zealand, found only on Raoul Island Raoul Island (''Sunday Island''; ) is the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, south south-west of 'Ata Island of Tonga and no ...

'', and ''

Coriaria arborea ''Coriaria arborea'' is a highly poisonous and common native shrub or small tree of New Zealand. The common name for the plant is tree tutu'', and it is one of the New Zealand species of ''Coriaria'' known by the name tutu. ''Coriaria arborea' ...

''. Two endemic

tree fern Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk (botany), trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae ( ...

s, '' Alsophila milnei'' and the rare and endangered '' Alsophila kermadecensis'', are also found in the forests. Areas near the seashore and exposed to salt spray are covered by a distinct community of shrubs and ferns, notably '' Myoporum obscurum'', '' Coprosma petiolata'', '' Asplenium obtusatum'', '' Cyperus ustulatus'', ''

Disphyma australe ''Disphyma australe'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Aizoaceae and is Endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It is a Prostrate shrub, prostrate, succulent plant, succulent Annual plant, annual shrub or short-lived perennial plant with ...

'', and '' Ficinia nodosa''.

Fauna

The islands have no native land mammals. An endemic bird subspecies is the

Kermadec red-crowned parakeet The Kermadec red-crowned parakeet (''Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae cyanurus''), also known as the Kermadec red-fronted parakeet or Kermadec parakeet, is a parrot endemic to New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean. It is a s ...

. The group has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because of its significance as a breeding site for several species of seabirds, including white-necked and black-winged petrels, wedge-tailed and

little shearwater The little shearwater (''Puffinus assimilis'') is a small shearwater in the petrel family Procellariidae. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the puffins, which are auks, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting seab ...

s,

sooty tern The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is a seabird of the tropical oceans, and remarkably, has evolved the ability to fly for years at a time, skimming the sea surface for food, and returning to land only ...

s and blue noddies. The area also hosts rich habitats for cetaceans. In recent years, increased presences of

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

s indicate Kermadec Islands functioning as migratory corridors, and varieties of baleen (not in great numbers) and toothed whales including

minke whale The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish na ...

s,

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

s, less known

beaked whale Beaked whales (systematic name Ziphiidae) are a Family (biology), family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least-known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat, reclusive behavior and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of ...

s,

killer whale The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopolit ...

s, and dolphins frequent in adjacent waters. In late September 2015, satellite tags were attached to 25

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

s around Raoul Island, which were tracked to feeding grounds in Antarctica and across to the Antarctic Peninsula. Vast numbers of

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20� ...

s were historically seen in southwestern areas although only a handful of recent confirmations exist around

Raoul Island Raoul Island (''Sunday Island''; ) is the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, south south-west of 'Ata Island of Tonga and north north-east of New Zealand's North Island. It has been the source of vigorous volcanic activit ...

. The deep sea

hydrothermal vents Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hots ...

along the Kermadec ridge support diverse

extremophile An extremophile () is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e., environments with conditions approaching or stretching the limits of what known life can adapt to, such as extreme temperature, press ...

communities including the New Zealand blind vent crab. Three new records of tropical reef fishes were recorded from the Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve in 2015 after researchers examined hundreds of hours of unused documentary film footage, and in 2016, a red

velvet whalefish The velvet whalefish (''Barbourisia rufa'') is a deep-sea whalefish, the sole known member of its family Barbourisiidae. It is found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world's oceans, mainly in the Pacific near Japan and New Zeala ...

and an angler fish ('' Ceratias tentaculatus'') were found around the waters of the Kermadec Islands by a research partnership between

Ngāti Kurī Ngāti Kurī is a Māori people, Māori iwi from Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kurī trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back to Pōhurihanga, the ca ...

,

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

,

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

,

NIWA The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA (), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences. It also maintai ...

, Manaaki Whenua, and the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

. Raoul Island had a

megapode The megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, are stocky, medium-large, chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet in the family Megapodiidae. Their name literally means "large foot" and is a reference to the heavy leg ...

population, though it died out in the late 19th century. In 2016, Koha, a

hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution that is largely ...

, which was originally found injured near

Dargaville Dargaville () is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River (Northland), Wairoa River in the Kaipara District of the Northland Region, Northland region. Dargaville is located south ...

in September 2014, was released around the waters of Raoul Island and nursed back to health at

Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium (formerly Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World) is a public aquarium opened in 1985 in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at 23 Tamaki Drive, it was the brainchild of New Zealand marine archaeologist and diver Kelly T ...

. The release was from the deck of the RV Tangaroa, with land in sight to enable Koha to orientate itself to prevent the risk of getting lost in the open ocean.

Conservation

The introduction of cats,

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s, and goats devastated the forests and seabirds.

Overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

by goats eliminated the forests of Macauley Island, leaving open grasslands, and altered the understory of Raoul Island. Predation by rats and cats reduced the seabird colonies on the main islands from millions of birds to tens of thousands. The New Zealand government has been working for the last few decades to restore the islands. New Zealand declared the islands a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in 1937, and the sea around them a

marine reserve A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

in 1990. The marine reserve surrounds each of the islands and is one of New Zealand's largest at a total area of . Goats were removed from Macauley in 1970 and from Raoul in 1984, and the forests have begun to recover. The islands are still known for their bird life, and seabird colonies presently inhabit offshore islets, which are safe from introduced rats and cats. Efforts are currently underway to remove the rats and cats from the islands, as well as some of the invasive exotic plants. Visits to the islands are restricted by the Department of Conservation. The department allows visits to Raoul by volunteers assisting in environmental restoration or monitoring projects, and other visitors engaged in nature study. Visits to the other islands are generally restricted to those engaged in scientific study of the islands. On 29 September 2015, the New Zealand Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...

announced the creation of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in the Kermadec Islands region. However, subsequently, fishing companies and

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

bodies filed legal action opposing it, and a coalition deal with the

New Zealand First New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...

Party has led to the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill not passing its second reading as of 2019. In late March 2024, the Government halted work on the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill. In October–November 2016, a collaborative team of researchers from

Auckland Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

,

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

,

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

,

NIWA The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA (), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences. It also maintai ...

and

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for 'Waka huia, the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the Nation ...

undertook research around Kermadec Islands aboard RV ''Tangaroa''. The multi-disciplinary team investigated the biodiversity of organisms living on the ocean floor and at midwater. The marine mammal populations were examined to determine what animal and plant species are shared between mainland New Zealand and the Kermadec region.

References

External links

*
The Kermadecs: an ocean wilderness

at Seafriends
Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary
from the Ministry for the Environment / Manatū Mō Te Taiao {{authority control Archipelagoes of New Zealand Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of New Zealand Oceanian ecoregions Island restoration Important Bird Areas of the Kermadec Islands Lists of coordinates Volcanism of New Zealand States and territories established in 1887 1887 establishments in New Zealand

Toponymy

History

Raoul Island Station

Nuclear testing proposals

Geography

Climate

Islands

Geology

Environment

Flora

Fauna

Conservation

References

External links