Cetacean Pathology Unit (CPU)

Aotearoa New Zealand's only dedicated, purpose-built facility for the assessment of stranded cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) is based at Massey University, Auckland. Partnering with iwi, the Department of Conservation, Project Jonah and wider community stakeholders, the Cetacean Pathology Unit (CPU) examines hundreds of cetaceans involved in strandings, bycatch or vessel strike incidents each year in New Zealand.

Working across the length and breadth of New Zealand, the CPU examines a diverse range of species, from rough-toothed dolphins in the Far North to spectacled porpoises received from the Deep South.  Each submitted taonga receives a comprehensive examination, with a wide range of samples curated for life history (age, growth, reproduction), diet (stomach contents, stable isotopes, fatty acids, eDNA), health (morphometrics, blubber adiposity, hormone analysis, toxicology) and disease (pathology, microbiology, virology, biotoxins) screening.  Each submitted is further reviewed by both biologists and veterinary pathologists, enabling full insight to both how the animal lived in addition to what may have caused its death.

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Responding to over 100 animals each year, the CPU curates the southern hemisphere's largest cetacean biobank (BIOCET) - a national collection of more than 16,000 tissues spanning over 25 years. From vagrants to endangered endemics - BIOCET offers an irreplaceable reference collection of specimens for research, conservation and critical disease surveillance.