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Sam Du Fresne
Marine Mammal Consultant
Sam is an independent marine mammal
consultant and researcher based in Nelson,
New Zealand. He first developed an interest
in marine mammals as a Master’s student at
the University of Otago (NZ), where he
worked with internationally known scientists
Steve Dawson and Liz Slooten on the
abundance estimation of Hector’s dolphin. He
continued as a PhD student at Otago,
studying the conservation biology of
Hector’s dolphins. Sam was interested in
developing new models to estimate survival
rates for Hector’s dolphin within the Banks
Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary, and spent
three years living near the picturesque town
of Akaroa, conducting photo-ID surveys of
Hector’s dolphin. Sam graduated from Otago
in 2005, and after a brief stint working in
the US, returned to his home town of Nelson
where he established Du Fresne Ecology Ltd,
a small company of which he is the director
and sole employee.
Sam is a dedicated marine mammal specialist, a
keen cetacean photographer and an experienced
boat driver. He has been to the USA several
times, where he has worked on a captive orca
project, and volunteered as a visiting scientist
on board a National Marine Fisheries Service
survey of cetaceans in Hawaiian waters. Most
recently he worked on the Mineral Management
Services Sperm Whale Seismic Survey cruise. For
this project, Sam was a member of the Summer
Breeze team, conducting acoustic monitoring and
photo-ID of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico.
He has also travelled to Far East Russia,
spending four weeks living on a small island off
the Kamchatka Peninsula, assisting a group of
Russian graduate students with their study of
the local orca. Since establishing his
consultancy business, Sam has worked on a
variety of desk-top and field projects for the
Department of Conservation, Auckland Regional
Council, National Institute of Water and
Atmospheric Research, and industry clients.
In his spare time he is an avid mountain biker,
and volunteers for the Nelson chapter of AFS (a
student exchange organisation) and local
mountain bike club committee.
Check out Sam's website
www.dufresne.co.nz
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marine team personnel page
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