Our Mission
CETOX is a Canadian not-for-profit organization dedicated to understanding, and reducing, the impacts of toxic contaminants on whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
Cetaceans are sentinels of ocean health: what harms them harms entire marine ecosystems. As top predators, they accumulate toxins from across the food web and are especially vulnerable to pollution. Declines in their populations signal wider environmental crises that ultimately affect human health and ocean sustainability.
From PCBs and mercury to microplastics and emerging contaminants, the toxic burden on marine mammals is increasing. Understanding these threats is the foundation for meaningful solutions.
To conduct essential scientific research and provide accessible education on how pollutants affect cetaceans, empowering communities, researchers, and policymakers to protect ocean health for generations to come.
Meet the team
Dr. Anaïs Remili
Anaïs is the president, executive director and principal investigator of CETOX. Anaïs is a marine mammal ecotoxicologist and postdoctoral researcher at Simon Fraser University in Canada. She studies how diet and industrial contaminants affect the health of killer whales and other apex predators, using tools like fatty acid tracers, steroid hormones, and metabolomics. Her work links feeding ecology, contaminant accumulation, and ecosystem health to understand how human-driven stressors impact marine predators. She is also a science communicator, founder of Whale Scientists, and a TEDx speaker, advocating for accessible science and inspiring future researchers.
Dr. Tristan Britt
Tristan is the treasurer of CETOX. He is a doctor of physics and a mathematician who now focuses his interests in finance and fintech. He lives in beautiful British Columbia near the Georgia Strait to be as close as he can to the host of marine mammals that adorn Vancouver
Dr. Courtney Ogilvy
Courtney is the secretary of CETOX and is a cetacean ecologist specializing in marine mammal foraging and diet. Originally from New Zealand, Courtney works in the Vancouver office of a global marine mammal consulting firm headquartered at the University of St Andrews. Her work centres on understanding how marine mammals use their environment and how we can improve conservation by mitigating anthropogenic activity.
Chloe Kotik
Chloe is a cetacean researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She works in Seattle, WA, the Alaskan Arctic, and everywhere in between, with projects focusing on the health, behavior, and population dynamics of killer whales in the eastern North Pacific.
Dr. Eve Jourdain
Eve is a killer whale researcher based in Norway at the University of Oslo, and the founder of the Norwegian Orca Survey. Since 2013, she has led the long-term research project dedicated to understanding the lives of Norwegian killer whales. Her work brings together diet, behaviour, social relationships, genetics, population dynamics and health to build the first comprehensive picture of this unique population and support its conservation in a rapidly changing ocean.
What we do
Research
We investigate how industrial chemicals, plastics, heavy metals, and other pollutants accumulate in cetaceans and affect their health, reproduction, and survival. Our work generates critical scientific data that guides conservation decisions in Canada and around the world.
Education
We turn complex scientific research into clear, accessible knowledge for students, educators, coastal communities, and the public. Through workshops, outreach, and publications, we build awareness of the threats facing marine mammals, and what can be done to reduce them.
Collaboration
We collaborate with universities, research institutions, conservation organizations, and government agencies to advance the field of cetacean ecotoxicology and support evidence-based policy and management.
Who We Serve
Scientists & Researchers
Through publications, open data, and research collaborations
Conservation Organizations
Through knowledge exchange and project partnerships
Policymakers
Through evidence to inform environmental decision-making
The Public
Through outreach and accessible science communication
Based in Canada, Global in Impact
While headquartered in British Columbia, our work pushes us to international waters. Cetaceans cross borders, and so does pollution. Addressing these challenges demands global collaboration grounded in local action.
Get Involved
Whether you are a researcher, student, educator, or someone passionate about ocean conservation, CETOX is for you. Together, we can build a cleaner, healthier future for cetaceans and the marine ecosystems we all depend on.