Shallow sea encounters shortlisted for Book Awards

The University of Auckland Media Release 14 July 2008

Shallow sea encounters shortlisted for Montana New Zealand Book Awards

A book documenting the ocean's beauty just below the surface by Faculty of Engineering member Dr Iain Anderson has been selected as a finalist in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

The Surface of the Sea: Encounters with New Zealand's Upper Ocean Life (Raupo Publishing) is one of three finalists in the awards' Environment 2008 category.

Iain is a Principal Investigator for the Bioengineering Institute and a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Engineering Science.

Although not a marine scientist, Iain is an avid underwater photographer and photojournalist, and is a contributing writer for Dive New Zealand.

"The upper ocean is easy to visit. All you need to do is grab a mask and pair of flippers and go for a snorkel. It is the largest animal habitat on Earth," Iain says.

"In my book I describe inhabitants of the upper ocean that I have been privileged to photograph. These include giant jelly-like plankton drifters, fish, sea turtles, sea snakes, juvenile giant squid, and the world's largest fish."

Most of the images in the book, which have been described as "stunning" and "phenomenal" by book reviewers, were taken in local waters around the Poor Knights Islands, the Leigh Peninsula and Auckland's west coast.

The Montana New Zealand Book Awards ceremony will be held on Monday 21 July at the Wellington Town Hall.

ENDS

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