News

La Gomera in April/May 2013. Two incredibly intense weeks are now behind us already. This year’s MEER practical course was characterized by numerous great sightings and an incredible team spirit. On balance we had a great number of sightings because of the really good conditions.

Berlin, June 2012 M.E.E.R. has recently published a new scientific report constituting another milestone of the scientific work of our association. The report lays out the model of a marine protected area (MPA) for sustainable whale watching in the waters off La Gomera (Canary Islands).

As a follow up to a posting to MARMAM on the skin anomaly observed in a bottlenose dolphin off La Gomera (see below) we summarize the feedback by many researchers. Thanks to everyone who provided advice and suggestions. We appreciate that it is very difficult to diagnose on the basis of a photographic image. Persistent remora damage was suggested by several researchers. In Hawaii, researchers observed an individual young Tursiops with a skin “rash” that looked like the one in our photo.  Each time the animal was seen, it was with an attached remora.  In some remora species at least,... Continue Reading

Canary Islands, Aug/Sept 2011. Fish farming as the main form of aquaculture nowadays is widespread an rapidly increasing world wide. It is praised as a crucial contribution for the nutrition of the world’s human population: aquaculture already represents around one third of the global fishery’s output. On the other hand, extensive environmental damage and overfishing of the oceans (every kilo of fish ‘produced’ in aquaculture consumes 3 kilo of wild fish) have to be put on the negative side of the balance. Rarely known are the effects of the fish farming plants on wild living dolphins – for instance around... Continue Reading

Berlin, November 2011. MEER now presents its own channel on Youtube. We want to give you insights into our work and to pay homage to the beauty of whales and dolphins. Watch and enjoy the sequences showing e.g. striped dolphins riding bow waves, fighting spotted dolphins and pilot whales going crazy. Our collection is going to grow continuously from now on. Sequences of extraordinary cetacean behavior will be one main focus. More (going directly to the Youtube channel of MEER)…  

A new website (category) is dedicated to the issue of ship strikes. Detailed background information about the issue of “collisions between ships and cetaceans” is presented, including latest scientific results and recommendations. How do collisions occur? Which types of ships and which cetacean species are involved? How can ship strikes be avoided? These questions shall be answered, as far as the current knowledge allows it. The special case of the Canary Islands (where sperm whales are hit regularly) will be highlighted, and the same is true for the case of collisions between sailing vessels and cetaceans. Read more…

Harmless?   Japan’s earthquake disaster shakes us. We are shocked and speechless upon looking at the power of the sea and the suffering of the people. We deeply feel with the Japanese people who have to stand all this and who apparently do so while keeping their countenance. But we are also shocked and speechless about the information policy of the Japanese Government and – most of all – Tepco, the operator of Fukushima’s nuclear power station. News about the condition of the power plants and the extent of the radiation is leaking much slower than the heavily contaminated water... Continue Reading

Mysterious phenomenon La Gomera, October 2009. During the springtime field season we encountered a large number of spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), a species present year-round in the Canary Islands. In one of the groups, containing a large number of calves (which is typical in springtime), we observed a young animal showing an extrordinarily swollen genital area. The reasons for this phenomenon were not known. Luckily, we managed to photograph the animal during aerial behaviours.