Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch

11 hours ago

Can you or a company help us financially? Small charities so often get overlooked in favour of the well-established 'big names'. Additionally, MWDW struggle to compete with charities that you could consider have an obvious outcome...i.e a certain denomination will sponsor a certain item which helps X amount of people/animals. But what about us? MWDW is run day to day by 3 marine mammal scientists and educators who have dedicated their lives to studying and conserving whales, dolphins and porpoises in Manx waters. We don't get paid a salary from the charity and have to juggle other part-time work. We have a fantastic Visitor's Centre which unfortunately comes at a price tag of £600 a month. We have to afford office and boat insurance as well as stationary costs such as printer ink and stamps, envelopes etc... We conduct regular land-based surveys from 7 sites and pay for petrol out of our own pockets. We aren't allowed to apply for the majority of UK and EU funding because of our location. We get turned down for grant applications all the time because usually they will only fund 'new projects'. But what about our on-going work? What about salary costs and rental support? Other cetacean groups such as ours across the UK and beyond have access to funding to cover staff salaries to have a full-time educator to go into the schools and run the info centre, and a full-time scientist to analyse their data and write reports. But we do not have such luxuries. People may wonder how their money supports us, well this is the answer in a nutshell: cetaceans are at the top of their food chain and are, therefore, indicators as to the health of their environment. If a local population of dolphins is doing well this can indicate that our marine habitat is healthy. If the population decreases it can indicate that something sinister may be going on….e.g. lack of food, disturbance, or pollutants. This is why we monitor the relative abundance and distribution of cetacean species in Manx waters through land and vessel based surveys, photo-id matching and public outreach and awareness. But, it is imperative that we receive financial support. Otherwise how will we continue? Personal Memberships help keep money trickling in but we desperately need a major funder, possibly by a corporate entity who wants to do their bit for local marine life. Please get in touch with us to discuss 844686/393496/info@mwdw.net Thanks ... See MoreSee Less

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