We have assembled a diverse and talented Science Team to deliver our Murihiku ki Te Tonga (MKTT) Research & Monitoring Programme. Our Science Team is supported by the MKTT Programme Director Riki Nicholas, Special Oceans Envoy Stuart Prior, and Strategy Advisor Mike Shatford (see Main Team page), as well as our International Advisory Board. We work together with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre at the University of Canterbury and a range of national and international partners across sectors.
Prof Michael Stevens - MKTT Science Director
Prof Michael Stevens delivering his keynote address as part of the official launch of Murihiku ki Te Tonga at the international SCAR conference in Christchurch on 03 August, 2023. Photo: R. Eisert
Prof Michael Stevens was appointed the Director of the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre in September 2024.
Mike is a Ngāi Tahu historian who grew up in Bluff. He and his whānau are stalwarts of the annual tītī (muttonbird) harvest and are well-known for maintaining he mahi pōhā: kelp receptacles that hold preserved tītī.
Mike has published widely on Ngāi Tahu history, in recent years through his work with the Ngāi Tahu Archive at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Long involved with Te Rau Aroha Marae and Te Rūnaka o Awarua, he is the Alternate Representative for the latter to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Dr Regina Eisert - MKTT Chief Scientist
Prof Michael Stevens, Dr Regina Eisert, and Tā Tipene O’Regan at the 2023 SCAR Conference in Christchurch. Photo: LS PeckStarting with her PhD research at Lincoln University, Regina has been carrying out research on marine mammals in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica since 1996. She is a member of both Antarctic national committees, the Royal Society Te Apārangi National Committee on Antarctic Sciences and the Antarctic Working Group convened by the Ministry of Primary Industries. She established the Top Predator Alliance (TPA) programme in 2013 to fill critical knowledge gaps for marine mammals, birds and their prey, and support the specific objectives of the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area. In 2020, Regina set up Kosatka Consulting Ltd. to offer advice on scientific strategy and international cooperation in research, science and innovation.
New Zealand Team
Colin Aitchison flying his drone in the Antarctic on board of the Heritage Adventurer. Photo: R. EisertColin Aitchison (SkyWorks UAS)
Colin is the Director of SkyWorks UAS Ltd. and a CAA Part 102 certified, professional drone operator based in Picton & Blenheim. He combines award-winning videography skills with the ability to complete professional aerial surveying using a range of sensor modalities, providing cutting-edge capabilities to support MKTT research & monitoring. Colin has participated in two expeditions to the Ross Sea, where he completed a high-resolution aerial survey of the largest Adélie penguin colony in the region at Cape Adare. He also mapped the Enderby Island archaeological site using visual, thermal and multispectral cameras to support a long-standing Ngāi Tahu research programme on early Polynesian voyages to the Subantarctic Islands.
Brian Bell (Compass Innovation Advisors)
Before founding Compass Innovation Advisors, Brian Bell held leadership roles in Innovation Management across science and technology companies. He founded two Innovation Labs, transformed traffic cameras into a weather network, built the first vehicle-based weather network, and led the development of the National Mesonet Program. He also envisioned the “smart orchard” system, is named on two patents, and has received two Small Business Innovation Research Awards and a Callaghan Innovation Research Grant. Brian brings expertise in innovation program management and cutting-edge remote sensing solutions using satellites, drones, and artificial intelligence.
Rewi Davis
Rewi Davis (Ōraka-Aparima) visited the Ross Sea and the Scott Base Pou in February 2024. Photo: MRTe Ao Tūroa Environmental Pou Workstream Lead
Born In Riverton to Bill and Jane Davis, Rewi grew up attending the Tītī Islands seasonally and fishing out of Bluff as a young man. In March 1976, Rewi joined the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry starting the first job in Big Glory Bay Rakiura on the American Drilling Rig Penrod 74. He spent the next 40yrs traveling and working globally, working his way up through the ranks from Deck Roustabout to Offshore Drilling Superintendent in charge of the Rig. He worked in the position of Shore Based Operations Manager for offshore drilling rigs in various countries followed by the role of Assistant Area Manager for Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. In the latter years, Rewi worked as a Drilling Consultant for various International Petroleum Companies. Rewi led the February 2024 MKTT expedition to the Subantarctics and the Ross Sea region (MRAQ24B), including a visit to the Scott Base Pou Whenua.
Dr Sophie Mormede (SoFish Consulting)
Prior to estabishing herself as an independent consultant, Sophie worked as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and as a Fisheries Modeller for NIWA. Sophie develops population models for stock assessment purposes, spatial and multispecies models to investigate ecosystem effects of fishing, risk assessment models and bioregionalisation work to inform spatial management. Her work involves methods and model development to answer specific management questions for New Zealand and international fisheries, including CCAMLR, SPRFMO, SIOFA, and ICCAT. Sophie has participated in multiple research expeditions to study Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea.
Dr Sophie Mormede (second from left) with the first haul of Antarctic toothfish after the species was thought to have disappeared from McMurdo Sound in 2015. Photo: TPA
Dr Jan Noordhof (Jan Noordhof Consulting)
Dr Jan Noordhof. Photo: suppliedJan, now an independent consultant based in Christchurch, was Principal Consultant for Tait Communications specializing in technical solutions for public safety, utilities, mining, and oil&gas sectors. Previous roles at Tait included Vice President Product Marketing, Vice President of Sales Engineering and Marketing at an export division of Tait Communications Ltd and was in charge of bringing Tait’s APCO Project 25 system product to the global market, He has been previously involved in a variety of R&D and product engineering roles in radio infrastructure development. Prior to joining Tait, Jan worked in IT on software development, software engineering, systems programming, telecommunications, embedded system design, including teaching at a number of universities. He supports the team with expertise in engineering, telecommunications, and management of large-scale, complex R&D projects.
Anthony ‘Antz’ Powell at the South Pole. Photo: Antzworks LtdAnthony Powell (Antzworks)
Anthony (‘Antz’) is a true Antarctic veteran who evolved from telecommunications expert looking after critical satellite infrastructure throughout the Antarctic winter to an award-winning film director and producer of documentaries. Through his company Antzworks Ltd., he provides cinematographic and drone services as well as Antarctic expertise for planning and supporting expeditions. He designs and fabricates original multimedia equipment for Antarctic research that can operate under some of the harshest conditions on the planet, including underwater cameras and acoustics. Antz is the official videographer for the New Zealand Antarctic Programme, Antarctica New Zealand. For MKTT, Antz provides invaluable advice on Antarctic field equipment and logistics, and expands our understanding of marine mammals, birds and fish through his custom-made solutions for research.
Michael Skerrett (Murihiku Upoko)
From Waihopai/Invercargill, Michael’s family can be traced back more than 800 years in Murihiku. Michael has dedicated his life to Murihiku Māori, and is passionate about protecting the future of Ngāi Tahu. He has served Ngāi Tahu as Upoko, Rūnanga Chairperson, Te Rūnanga representative, and was the founding Manager of Te Ao Marama environmental service agency. In 2013 Michael was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for services to Māori and he became an Honorary SIT Fellow in 2014. Michael has particular expertise in the ecology and traditional harvest of tītī - muttonbirds.
Captain Andy Smith (High Seas Fishing Group)
Captain Andy Smith. Photo: supplied
Our key commercial expert, Andy has been active in the fishing industry for almost 50 years, mainly as a sea captain/fishing master in many oceans of the world, including the Southern Ocean, and in many kinds of fisheries and vessels, including trawling, long-lining, and purse-seining. Andy has been an owner-operator of vessels and carried out project development, vessel purchase, refits, surveys, relocations and deliveries globally; and been responsible for fleet operations and implementation of research projects. Andy has attended many major international fisheries science & policy meetings, including for CCAMLR, WCPFC, and SPRFMO. Andy ensures that our research is relevant to sector priorities and contributes decades of at-sea experience in the Subantarctic and Southern Ocean, including the Ross Sea.
International Advisory Board
Prof Klaus Dodds, FAcSS (Royal Holloway University of London)
Prof Klaus Dodds. Photo: Wellington College (UK)Klaus has worked for many years on polar geopolitics and governance, a field that he has helped develop through publications, public lectures, education, and working for the UK Parliament as a specialist adviser and NATO as an academic consultant. In 2012, Klaus was elected Fellow the UK Academy of Social Sciences in recognition of his contribution to geography and the wider social sciences and this followed the award of the Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2005 for geography. Alongside his role as Executive Dean and Professor of Geopolitics at Royal Holloway University of London, he is an Hon Fellow of British Antarctic Survey, and has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford (St Johns and St Cross) and an Erskine Visiting Fellow at the University of Canterbury. He remains a judge for the annual Shackleton Medal: For the protection of the polar regions.
Prof Lloyd Peck, FRS (British Antarctic Survey)
Prof Lloyd Peck, FRS. Photo: The Royal Society of LondonLloyd is a leading global expert on climate change in polar marine ecosystems, a field he has significantly advanced over the last three decades. In 2024, Lloyd was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society London in recognition of his achievements. In addition to his position as Science Leader at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), he is a Fellow of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge and Visiting Professor at Portsmouth and Sunderland Universities. Lloyd acts as mentor and primary contact at BAS, whose scientists are at the forefront of remote sensing and monitoring of marine predators as ecosystem indicators.
Dr Ben Sharp (Corvus North Ecological Consulting)
As New Zealand Scientific Committee Representative to CCAMLR and Antarctic Working Group Chair, Ben was the primary architect of the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area (MPA) from 2005 to the adoption of the MPA in October 2016. During this time, he developed novel methodologies for marine spatial management and mitigation of threats to marine birds and mammals. Ben contributes unparalleled knowledge of the MPA, its design, and the international dimension of marine conservation in the Southern Ocean. He has completed several expeditions to the Ross Sea to study Antarctic toothfish and killer whales.
Dr Ben Sharp (far left) with the TPA Team in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Photo: I. Visser/TPA
Dr Andrew Wright (USA & Canada)
Dr Andrew Wright. Photo: supplied by Andrew
Andrew is a marine acoustician studying cetaceans (whales and dolphins) in polar and temperate regions, with particular expertise in conservation management, the science-policy interface, regulatory and legal frameworks, science communication, and the use of drones in whale research. He has recently completed a successful work programme on critically endangered northern right whales (tohorā) for the Canadian Government (DFO). He has particular expertise in the acoustics of parāoa/sperm whales, and has participated in several expeditions to the Ross Sea for research on killer whales. He is an Adjunct at George Mason University, MD, USA.