Heidi Pearson looks out for dusky dolphins off Kaikōura's South Bay Harbour. Photo: LDR / Heidi Pearson
Kaikōura's council is keen to attract international researchers to study its rich ocean environment, with the lofty goal of becoming a global centre for marine research.
American marine biologist Professor Heidi Pearson recently completed a study of Kaikōura's dusky dolphins.
In the first population study in nearly a decade, the research involved taking photos of distinctive markings on the dorsal fins, which is described as ''like taking fingerprints''.
Kaikōura District Council chief executive Will Doughty said it was exactly the type of research the council was hoping to attract.
''It is amazing that we can have overseas researchers coming in and having a look at things like that for us.''
The council is keen to attract marine researchers from New Zealand and overseas, but it lacks the funding to support it.
A business case for the future development of South Bay Harbour was completed in July 2022, thanks to funding from the government's Provincial Growth Fund.
It identified Kaikōura as having the potential to become an international hub for marine research and education - if it could get the funding.
Doughty said the council was keen to partner with government and other agencies to support marine education and research.
Dusky dolphins off the coast of Kaikōura. Photo:
He said he was pleased to see the Kaikōura-based Encounter Foundation stepping up to fund Professor Pearson to complete a month-long study of Kaikōura's dusky dolphins in February-March.
She previously visited Kaikōura for dolphin counts between 2013 and 2016, as part of a study led by US-based academic Bernd Wūrsig. It began in the 1980s and finished nine years ago.
Prof Pearson, a marine biology professor at the University of Southeast Alaska in Juneau, said her latest mission was to update the dusky dolphin photo identification catalogue.
''A dolphin gets little nicks and notches on the dorsal fin, mainly through wear and tear.''
Improvements in technology have made the work easier, as Prof Pearson has been working with researchers to develop an automated AI system to analyse the data.
The data was previously processed manually.
For the fun of it: dusky dolphins in the wake of a vessel leaving Bluff. Photo: Ian Skipworth Photo:
Three decades of data found there was an open population of dusky dolphins at Kaikōura, with around 1000 visiting at any time.
''They are always coming and going, but the same dolphin could be sighted eight years in a row.''
Dusky dolphins can be found in the temperate southern hemisphere waters in the sub-Antarctic, Argentina, Peru, south Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, but they are not thought to be a migratory species like whales.
Prof Pearson's research covers other marine mammals, including whales.
Researchers have been learning more in recent decades about the role of whales in the ocean ecosystem.
A whale will dive down deep to eat fish, before returning to the surface to relax and poop, releasing nutrients which fertilise the ocean, providing food for plankton and plant life.
She said researchers were interested in understanding the role of whale poop and the impact whales could have on climate change and storing carbon.
''The science is still very new, but it is likely not going to make a big difference in terms of the full scale of CO2 build up in the atmosphere.
''But every little bit helps.''
Whales can live for more than 200 years and it is possible they can store large amounts of carbon.
When a whale dies, it sinks to the sea floor and the remains become food for sea creatures, she said.
The Kaikōura District Council has supported initiatives such as Sea Week and the Great Kaikōura Whale Count as well as organisations to protect local seabirds including the Hutton's Shearwaters / tītī and little penguins / kororā.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
