Scientific Studies Overview

Our oceans are in peril. Many marine species are at risk of disappearing from our earth forever. As pressures on marine environments continue to escalate, due largely to man-made causes, new science-based solutions are desperately needed. As part of our commitment to global stewardship, Dolphin Quest is dedicated to enhancing our scientific understanding of marine mammals and to the preservation of vital ocean ecosystems.

In addition to marine mammal studies, Dolphin Quest supports conservation and public environmental education initiatives. These include organizing beach and stream clean-ups, hosting school groups virtually and on-site, and training representatives from NOAA’s Cetacean Stranding Response Network, to name a few.

In addition to providing financial and staffing support for crucial wild dolphin and whale studies, we share our locations and animals with world-class scientists, for responsible non-invasive studies, providing them with critically important controlled environments. Much of the groundbreaking science that takes place at Dolphin Quest locations would be virtually impossible to conduct in the wild. These studies enhance our scientific understanding of marine mammals and support the development of novel technologies for application in the conservation of marine mammals.

Dolphin Quest has contributed greater than $6,000,000 in support of scientific studies and conservation initiatives since 1988 and will continue to support crucial projects that make a difference in the lives of marine animals, our ocean, and our Earth. In 2022, Dolphin Quest partnered with the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF) to help launch Operation GRACE (Global Rescue of At-Risk Cetaceans and Ecosystems). In honor of NMMF’s founder and Dolphin Quest’s colleague, the late Dr. Sam Ridgway, Dolphin Quest donated $250,000 to the NMMF. These funds will enable the NMMF to apply their unique expertise in conservation medicine to build veterinary capacity for species conservation projects worldwide. Operation GRACE’s leaders are members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Integrated Conservation Planning for Cetaceans Team, who call for a more integrated approach to the conservation of at-risk dolphins and porpoises. Operation GRACE addresses this call with evidence-based efforts to protect endangered cetacean populations worldwide.