2025 NZ Association of Marine Sciences awardee

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Di Tracey is a deep-sea Emerita scientist at Earth Sciences NZ with a long career in fisheries and coral research. She has focussed on the biology of deepwater fishes such as orange roughy, spending a lot of time at sea on trawl surveys to collect data and biomass estimates for use in fisheries stock assessments. Di has been instrumental in coordinating and advocating for deep-sea coral research in Aotearoa New Zealand, leading and contributing to research publications on their taxonomy, identification and distribution, age and growth, life-history traits, and threats. Her efforts have greatly increased awareness and understanding of deep-sea coral biodiversity; as such, Di is a recognised international expert on deep-sea corals.

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Di has a strong history of advocacy for and mentoring of women working in science during her 40+ year career. She has been a willing and strong mentor for women researchers, has hosted numerous national and international students in the lab and at sea, and supervised several PhD and Masters students. She was awarded a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993, was the recipient of the Miriam Dell Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring, and is the 2025 NZ Association of Marine Sciences awardee.

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