The Cetacean Ecology Research Group (CERG) was established at Massey University, Auckland under the auspices of the Institute of Natural Resources (INR) in 1999. CERG undertakes a wide array of marine mammal research within and beyond New Zealand.  Based in Auckland, CERG is based at the Cetacean Pathology Unit (CPU), New Zealand's only purpose-built facility to examine stranded marine mammals. CERG also curates New Zealand's largest Cetacean Biobank (BIOCET), a diverse collection of tissues, fluids and swabs spanning 30 years in support of diet, life history, health and diseases studies.

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Our team of staff and postgraduate students investigate largely conservation and management orientated questions. Research foci include health and anthropogenic impacts affecting cetacean populations, strandings causation and response investigations and biology and life history studies. While long-term research programmes focus on common dolphins and long-finned pilot whales, the team also works on elusive Southern Ocean species including the hourglass dolphin and spectacled porpoise.

For more information see our research and publications.