Gathering and eating wild kai, like koura (crayfish), watercress, tuna (eel), and more recently trout, has long been a part of tikanga (custom) for Te Arawa people. But a recent collaborative study between NIWA and the Te Arawa Lakes Trust has found that toxicants in those traditional foods could pose a risk to people's health.

Highly detailed maps of New Zealand’s seabed are now freely available on NIWA’s website.