Bleached sea sponges found in New Zealand waters for first time

Extreme ocean temperatures blamed for turning sea sponges white in more than a dozen sites on southern coastline

Sea sponges off New Zealand's southern coastline have been found bleached bone-white for the first time, following extreme ocean temperatures.

A group of scientists from Victoria University of Wellington were alarmed to discover the sponges, which are typically a rich chocolate brown, were bleached in more than a dozen sites near Breaksea Sound and Doubtful Sound in Fiordland.