We consider shape and topology optimization for fluids which are governed by
the Navier--Stokes equations. Shapes are modelled with the help of a phase
field approach and the solid body is relaxed to be a porous medium. The phase
field method uses a Ginzburg--Landau functional in order to approximate a
perimeter penalization. We focus on surface functionals and carefully introduce
a new modelling variant, show existence of minimizers and derive first order
necessary conditions. These conditions are related to classical shape
derivatives by identifying the sharp interface limit with the help of formally
matched asymptotic expansions. Finally, we present numerical computations based
on a Cahn--Hilliard type gradient descent which demonstrate that the method can
be used to solve shape optimization problems for fluids with the help of the
new approach