Tessa Thomson is with Te Ohu Kaimoana for the summer 2021/22 period as an intern through Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, through the Taihonoa Internship programme.

She will be looking at developing a framework for returning fish to sea that is informed by tikanga Māori, to respond to the current policy changes surrounding landings and discards.

Prior to her mahi at Te Ohu Kaimoana, Tessa has spent summers at NIWA and GNS Science, contributing to large research projects by understanding and incorporating mātauranga Māori in different areas.

Tessa grew up on the Kāpiti Coast with her whānau, where her passion for the environment, the ocean and marine biology was born.

Tessa holds a Bachelor of Science majoring in Marine Biology and Māori Resource Management and is halfway through her studies towards her Master of Science in Marine Biology. Her thesis next year involves working with her hapū, Ngāti Tukorehe, to study the surf clam taonga species, the toheroa.