Mary Livingston recently retired from a 40-plus year career in marine science.
Originally from the UK, Mary knew as a young girl she wanted to do "something that involves the sea".
In 1976, she came to New Zealand to study for her PhD in marine zoology at Victoria University of Wellington, and the capital has been her home ever since.
Her work has taken her around the world including South America and the Antarctic. Mary spent the last 18 years of her career working for MPI’s Fisheries New Zealand.