The yellow moray is the moray eel most likely to introduce itself. Unlike its relatives, which tend to maintain a degree of crevice-based reserve, Gymnothorax prasinus is described by divers as inquisitive. It can occasionally be approached and even handled with reasonable care. This does not mean it lacks opinions. It means its opinions are expressed differently. And on a longer timeline than most reef fish. The interaction is cautious. The trust is earned. Or assumed. New Zealand's most common moray eel, the yellow moray is confined to the North Island. It ranges from North Cape south to roughly the Māhia Peninsula. It prefers inshore coastal reefs over the exposed outer islands. Its relatives, the mottled and grey morays, are more reliably found there. The colouring ranges from yellow-green through dull gold to yellow-brown. The head is typically orange. Some individuals carry strikingly blue eyes. The body is elongate, muscular and scaleless. It is covered in a mucous layer. This gives it a faint fluorescence against dark reef backgrounds. The mouth extends well behind the eye. It is lined with backward-curving teeth. These are designed to grip rather than cut. The mechanism is secure. The release is difficult. The open-mouthed posture that divers sometimes find alarming is not aggression. All morays breathe by pumping water across their gills via the mouth. The gill openings are too small to ventilate through alone. The expression this produces is a design outcome. Not an invitation. At night the eel leaves its crevice. It moves across the reef in search of crabs, urchins and small fish. Telemetry research in New Zealand found that yellow morays use a consistent home range. Roughly 0.15 to one hectare. They do not necessarily return to the same hole each day. They shift between several suitable crevices across seasons. The routine is flexible. The territory is defined. A noted behaviour is the use of cleaner shrimp. Yellow morays have been observed allowing small shrimp to enter the mouth. The shrimp move carefully across the teeth. They remove parasites and food debris. The eel holds still for this. The shrimp appears to know the arrangement is reliable. It is one of the more improbable working relationships on a New Zealand reef. It seems to suit both parties well. The cooperation is specific. The benefit is mutual. The risk is managed. No population estimate exists for New Zealand. The species is not threatened. It is not commercially targeted. It is not formally assessed. It is simply present on northern inshore reefs. Doing what morays do. In the same holes and the same general neighbourhoods it has occupied for a long time. The reef changes slowly. So does the moray's schedule. The persistence is quiet. The presence is constant. It carries on.