Nelson Science Stories

Fresh FM

Hosted by Graeme Robertson, Nelson Science Stories shines a light on the discoveries, people, and places that have shaped the region’s rich scientific heritage. From early innovations to modern breakthroughs, each episode uncovers the fascinating stories behind Nelson’s contribution to science in Aotearoa and beyond.

  1. 4D AGO

    Feb 11 2026 ep15 - Young Women in Science

    In 2001, Cawthron’s Dr. Alison Haywood won a prestigious UNESCO-L’Oréal award, the only Southern Hemisphere winner. The next year, Dr. Jenny Smith also won, surprising judges. A decade later, Zoe Hilton repeated the feat—an exceptional achievement for Cawthron and Nelson. Cawthron senior scientists Dr Lesley Rhodes was the encouragement behind their applications.

    5 min

  2. FEB 3

    Feb 04 2026 ep14 - Sawmills and Dioxins

    A 1990 Cawthron report highlighted the impact of dioxin impurities in PCP (pentachlorophenol). A brief delay in its public release enabled a heads up for the major sawmill companies, allowing them to proactively locate and plan cleanups for contaminated sites. The report lead to PCP's ban in 1991 and the creation of a national contaminated sites database.

    12 min

  3. JAN 27

    Jan 28 2026 ep13 - Paua Pearls

    Cawthron fellow Prof Kosuge introduced us to a giant Japanese cosmetics company. We began a joint project to grow pearls in paua, purchasing a house in Okiwi Bay and fitting it out as a research base and home for a Japanese expert. This was before Paua pearls became a thing. Then it came to a sudden stop.

    10 min

  4. JAN 20

    Jan 21 2026 ep12 - A Compound Worth Millions?

    In 2003, Lincoln Mackenzie rushed to an algae bloom off the West Coast. Greymouth, hired a boat and located a dense subsurface bloom which may contain a rare compound, pectenotoxin (PTX). For hours he pumped and concentrated seawater into several dozen 20 L carboys. Analysis revealed PTX which was later purified with a Canadian lab into a global reference standard. Enough for the world supply for the next 5 years. Some of these standards sold for as much as $3000 for one thousandth of a gram!

    7 min

  5. JAN 13

    Jan 14 2026 ep11 - Tesla nodes, aliens and other nasties

    (For the “wild & wacky” section) An earnest visitor wants Cawthron to start research into cetacean behaviour. Turns out he believes aliens are extracting energy from our planet, from a “Tesla node” above Farewell Spit. That visit gets aired on RNZ. Prof Yasumoto, the foremost expert in Japan on Marine biotoxins, visited Cawthron after the 92/93. At a dinner in Wellington with officials he pushed his request for samples. He and his wife experienced a bumpy flight back to Nelson. I took a live culture to Japan so he could grow some saxitoxin for certified standards . New Zealand has the world’s longest list of toxic algae species—not due to poor water quality, but because most of the shellfish harvest is exported and must meet strict global standards. This drove world-leading monitoring programs, making NZ shellfish among the safest. I eat Greenshell mussels regularly, confident in our unmatched biotoxin monitoring program.

    11 min

  6. JAN 6

    Jan 07 2026 ep10 - Glenhaven Aquaculture Centre Ltd

    In the 1990s, Cawthron’s Aquaculture Park began with Henry Kaspar’s vision, converting a small oyster hatchery into a research facility. The installation of a polythene pond liner, deployed by surprised volunteers in minutes rather than hours, turned out to be a good omen. The mussel breeding program initially struggled with highly labor-intensive batch rearing. SwItching to a continuous-flow system proved critical for scaling production efficiently.

    13 min

  7. 12/30/2025

    Dec 31 2025 ep09 - Solving the mussel breeding problem

    In the 1990s, New Zealand’s mussel industry relied on unpredictable wild spat collection. Scientist had been working for decades to grow Greenshell mussels in a hatchery, without success. A would-be PhD student persuaded Cawthron to give him a job and build a research hatchery to tackle the problem. We hired him and he succeeded. The story describes the beginnings of Cawthron’s mussel breeding programme, the Cawthron Aquaculture Park and one of the largest shellfish breeding hatcheries in the world.

    9 min

  8. 12/23/2025

    Dec 24 2025 ep08 - Giant Bloom shuts down baby mussel supply

    In the late 1990s, a massive toxic algal bloom off the North Island halted mussel spat transfers to South Island farms. Cawthron set up emergency 24-hour testing, hiring and training casual staff to meet demand. Later, they developed an innovative solution to clean contaminated spat, enabling the restoration of South Island operations within months. That successful project strengthened Cawthron’s industry ties, and won the industry’s research prize that year.

    8 min
See All (15)

About

Hosted by Graeme Robertson, Nelson Science Stories shines a light on the discoveries, people, and places that have shaped the region’s rich scientific heritage. From early innovations to modern breakthroughs, each episode uncovers the fascinating stories behind Nelson’s contribution to science in Aotearoa and beyond.

Information

  • Creator
    Fresh FM
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C)Fresh FM