Professors Emeritus Steve Dawson and Liz Slooten

Most people saw a pod of dolphins.

But Emeritus professors Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson saw ‘Mangle’, a Hector’s dolphin with a distinctly chewed looking dorsal fin, ‘Punk’ with a new calf in tow, and Rooster, Biggus Nickus, and Zorro darting about in the water.

They can recall catalogue names and numbers too, which after 40 years of conservation advocacy for New Zealand’s endemic dolphin species, is saying something.

Being amongst a pod of marine mammals has always “filled the tank” for the couple who are highly regarded as pioneers of field research on dolphins and whales in New Zealand.

Among a long list of accolades for research and campaigns, the couple’s work provided the basis for the establisment of New Zealand’s first Marine Mammal sanctuary in 1989, and their research leadership continues to produce important scientific evidence to Hector’s and Bottlenose dolphins, as well as Sperm whales.

Originally from the Netherlands, Liz moved to New Zealand when she was 18 and often marvels at how grateful she is to have found such meaningful purpose in her work.

“We never did it for the money – that was the least important. Don’t tell my boss, but I would absolutely have been doing this regardless,” she laughs.

She fondly recalls years spent at Banks Peninsula in the South Island during the early 1980’s, where her journey with Steve to raise awareness and advocate through sound scientific research for Hector’s dolphins began.

The couple met at Auckland University, studying for their BScs in Zoology. Steve grew up on Auckland’s North Shore, and as the son of a vicar he remembers wearing his sailing shorts under his cassock so he could bike to sailing after church on Sunday.

A deep love of the ocean and respect for marine mammals is what initially drew Steve and Liz together, and after they completed their studies they decided to move to the South Island to carry out research for their PhDs.

To this day, Banks Peninsula is where Liz says she feels most at home.

“Going out of the harbour in Akaroa, you’d turn right towards Birdlings flat, and you might see anywhere between 60 and 100 dolphins in that stretch of coastline.”

But it was not always happy times.

Soon after their arrival in 1984, they discovered many Hector’s dolphins were dying in gillnets every year, and would frequently find them floating in Akaroa harbour.

Feeling compelled to do something more than simply study the species, the pair refocused their PhD work to study how many were being killed, whether that impact was sustainable, and what could be done about it.

Over four years, that work provided the basis for the Marine Mammal sanctuary, a 14,840km2 gillnet-free zone which alleviated the fishing pressure to benefit not just the dolphins, but the entire ecosystem.

It’s a cherished career highlight for the pair, who say the dolphin protection measures in place today represent the largest protected areas in New Zealand coastal waters.

“For Hectors and Maui populations to start recovering, it is not yet enough. But the progress is significant, and worth raising a glass to” says Steve.

The lead up to this achievement was a long slow journey.

“To learn about the dolphins’ biology, especially their age and reproduction, we wanted to do some dissections, so contacted commercial and amateur fishers to bring in any dolphins they had caught rather than just dumping them at sea,” Steve explains.

One meaningful moment was dissecting a dolphin that was still warm, following a call from someone who had only hours before found one entangled in his net.

“We know intellectually of course that these are mammals and they’re a lot like us. But when you have your hands inside this warm animal, that was swimming around just a few hours ago, that’s a profound experience which motivates you to want to work very hard to find solutions to these problems,” he explains.

Steve was blown away at how many dead dolphins were passed to them.

“We ended up dissecting more than 60 between 1985 and 89, and interviews with commercial fishers indicated this was very much the tip of the iceberg,” he says.

Several fishers said they caught a dozen or more each year, and when Steve and Liz did the maths they came to the stark realisation that this was not sustainable.

“We worked closely with the newly established Department of Conservation, who proposed protection measure based on our research. In the eyes of some, that made us a target”.

Living in a disused one room school at Wainui on the shores of Akaroa Harbour, their findings prompted attacks by the fishing community, incidents of boat sabotage, and being labelled ‘scientific frauds’ as the target of a smear campaign.

He describes that period as very challenging.

“Our greatest strength however, is that there were two of us. So when one was down, the other was fine. We had a lot of support from friends, but it was a tough journey,” he explains.

They were employed by Otago University in 1990, and eight years later sold their house to buy a catamaran which they converted to a research boat to count dolphins in New Zealand waters. After the dolphin surveys were completed, they sailed the boat to Tonga, Fiji and New Caledonia with the purpose of tracking sperm whales.

They’ve been to the Auckland Islands in the subantarctic many times studying right whales, and throughout all these experiences they say interactions with the mammals is what keeps them going.

“That kind of time in nature recharges your battery. Often people that work for conservation groups all their lives don’t get any time outside with the animals they are trying to save. That must be tough” says Liz.

Steve laughs about the distinct traits of particular dolphins and whales, something he will never tire of observing.

“Right whales are delightful. They’re goofy, friendly, and incredibly curious. They’ll come and give the boat a gentle nudge. That’s the kind of experience that fills up the tank. We have been so privileged to have studied such incredible animals,” says Steve.

He also recalls shooting a drone video of right whale lying on her back using her pectoral flippers to stroke her calf.

“There was no other explanation other than that of a mum giving her calf a cuddle. You see that and you just think ‘they’re not so different to us after all’. ”

This respect and empathy for the mammals is what has driven their pioneering non-invasive research methods.

“We don’t use tags or biopsy sampling, instead focusing on research methods which answer the same questions with as little impact as possible,” says Liz.

She says although they would consider other methods if absolutely necessary, they have not yet found the need to do so.

“For every research problem we have found, there has been a non-invasive method. Which is not just a more ethical approach, but it’s often better science as well,” she explains.

These include visual line-transect surveys, acoustic surveys, photo-identification techniques, time-lapse camera systems, and photographic methods for measuring growth.

Steve and Liz have established New Zealand’s three long-term research programmes, each three or four decades long, and still going; Hector’s dolphins at Banks Peninsula, Bottlenose dolphins in Fiordland, and Sperm whales in Kaikoura.

“We’ve supervised 92 masters and PhD students through those projects. It’s a big squadron of people, who continue to work to drive conservation methods for each of those populations. We are really proud of that,” she says.

Steve says helping train the next generation of scientists to carry the torch has been one of the sweetest aspects, providing him great hope for the future.

“We are still involved with advising graduate students and working to ensure marine mammals get the protection they need, and I suspect we will be until we curl up our toes. We’re in it for the long haul,” he says.