News

Here you will find the most important news about our association as well as our projects and actions. In addition, we report about the events around the whale and dolphin protection off La Gomera (Canary Islands) and worldwide.

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25 May

A second chance

As of May 2022 M.E.E.R. has a new partner: 2Chance Upcycling. 2Chance processes old bicycle tubes, fishing nets, records, skateboards and sail ropes into cool everyday products and gives them a new life through upcycling. Not only is it fair and sustainable, but 10% of the proceeds are donated to projects that support the environment and sustainability – including M.E.E.R. We are happy that with this partnership we can contribute to reintroducing used fabrics to the product cycle, even more so in such an innovative way. We especially like the fact that our partner also upcycles materials that have been actively...
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17 May

Dead dolphin baby off La Gomera

It is well known that cetaceans sometimes carry their stillborn babies for many days and apparently do not want to part with them. Such incidents have also been recorded near La Gomera several times. MEER documented such a behaviour for the first time in rough-toothed dolphins. That this behaviour also occurs in spotted dolphins is new, at least for La Gomera. Our partner Oceano was able to record the behaviour from the boat! Our partner Venatana Al Mar reports: Read more…
7 May

LIVE on board!

As part of our Marine Ambassadors program, we were able to award two tickets for a whale watching tour with our partner OCEANO Gomera at the end of April. Shakti and Sikha were able to join us as Marine Ambassadors, learn about M.E.E.R.’s research and meet the marine mammals that so desperately need our protection. Both had fantastic sightings: a fin whale showed up alongside pilot whales and dolphins! Sikha wrote to us: “Thank you very much for letting me join this really wonderful tour! A big fin whale accompanied by jumping dolphins, another small group of whales, great weather,...
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14 Feb

Thank you to our supporters!

Our annual card this year arrived a bit later than usual, but is no less heartfelt: With a review of the year 2021 we would like to thank everyone who supports M.E.E.R., donates, sponsors or supports us in other ways. It is only through you that our work for the protection of whales and dolphins and their habitat is possible in the first place! Look forward to receiving something in the mailbox within the next few days! PS: Of course the production of our cards is climate neutral with green electricity, printed on recycled paper and with vegan inks based...
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25 Jan

The next M.E.E.R. Workshop at the ECS 2022 in Israel

After holding none in 2020 and only one online conference in 2021, the European Society for the Study of Marine Mammals (ECS Conference 2022 – Ashdod, Israel | European Cetacean Society) will meet again from April 5-7, 2022, at least in a hybrid format. Our request to hold another of our successful workshops has been granted, so we will be contributing here again. The workshops will take place on April 3rd and 4th, with the full-day workshop “Arts as a Tool for Communicating Marine Mammal Science to the General Public” co-organised by MEER taking place on Monday, April 4th. This workshop...
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3 Feb

Whales off Tenerife as a “World Heritage”

It is reported that the marine area in the southwest off Tenerife has been designated as a “World Heritage Site for Cetaceans”. Having already been established as a Natura 2000 protected area by the EU, then designated as Parque Marina de los Cetaceos (Whale Natural Park) and most recently declared as a Hope Spot by Sylvia Earle’s organisation Mission Blue, this is the next recognition of the unique whale and dolphin occurrences off the island. This is actually a reason to rejoice. Because the increased attention can lead to special protection being given to this extraordinary natural treasure in the...
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7 Dec

KUS meets M.E.E.R. at GomeraVive on La Gomera!

We are pleased to have been able to support the project „Klassenzimmer unter Segeln“ (KUS) by the traditional sailing ship Thor Heyerdahl and to host it on La Gomera in cooperation with our partner GomeraVive. Volker Boehlke took four groups of 8-9 10th grade students on a natural history walk along the coast of the Valle Gran Rey. They dealt with and touched on a variety of topics: oceanographic, marine biological, botanical, environmental, geological, historical and also political. These were dealt with, for example, through waves and current dynamics, microplastics and waste water, adaptations of coastal flora and marine fauna,...
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28 Nov

Marine Mammal Podcast episode with M.E.E.R.

See the new Marine Mammal Science Podcast (hostedt by the Society for Marine Mammalogy):Dr. Ashley Scarlett has a wide-ranging discussion with Fabian Ritter from the history of whale watching in La Gomera, to the organization M.E.E.R. Their discussion covers topics on sustainable whale-watching, ship strikes, and the International Whaling Commission.