Boats in the gruelling Volvo Ocean Race will be equipped with sensors to gather valuable information on the state of our oceans.
The race covers 72,000 kilometres of ocean, giving plenty of space to collect data.
"The really nice thing that the Volvo Ocean Race is doing is measuring things like marine plastics and water observations that are so hard for us to get through other means," Mike Williams from NIWA said.
The boats will be fitted with sensors and stainless steel filters to capture environmental data, including sea temperature, salinity, wind speed and the amount of plastic in the water.
The research is important as it's estimated there will be more plastic than fish by 2050.
The data will be analysed by scientists on board and in a lab. Valuable information that could help keep our planet on the right course.
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