Mallorcan students are taking action to prevent plastic pollution. More than 200 students have joined Save The Med’s education project “Changemakers At Sea” and worked in teams to come up with their own ideas to prevent plastic pollution. The teams behind the most innovative ideas participated in a workshop with the STM team to help put their ideas into action. All participants will get a chance to meet and share their ideas in June, during the Changemakers Event, where the most promising ideas will be announced and the students invited to join Save the Med’s marine science expeditions. Learn more HERE.

In Mallorca, 155 nursehound sharks (Scyliorhinus stellaris) have been born in captivity from shark egg cases found by local fishermen, as part of the collaborative project “Small Sharks – Stellaris Action” in which Save The Med Foundation participates. 16 of the larger pups have now been released in the Cabrera National Park and more will be released in other protected areas the near future. The scientists hope to use the knowledge gained through this pilot project to help recover other shark species in the future.

Recent follow-up studies on marine life in the Sa Dragonera Marine Reserve in Mallorca indicated that since Save The Med‘s proposal for the creation of the marine reserve was implemented by the local government 6 years ago, the average biomass has multiplied by x7 in the deep internal waters and by x3 in the external waters of the marine reserve. According to The General Directorate of Fisheries and the Marine Environment, of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, these biomass values are comparable to other areas with more than 15 years of protection!

Save The Med is calling out to businesses in Mallorca’s hospitality industry: the Plastic Free Balearics Certification Programme is launching 15 FREE certifications to help companies reduce single-use plastics between now and September 2023! This unique opportunity includes the assessment of each entity’s current use of single use plastics, guidance for reducing and eliminating single use plastic products and a certification based on their level of accomplishment. Find out more here.

Looking to learn about Mediterranean marine life but lack time? Check out and subscribe to the Save The Med YouTube channel. Here you can access numerous short, high-quality videos with epic underwater and terrestrial footage and key information about the conservation status of an array of different marine species. For example, click here to view a Greater Amberjack patrolling the marine reserve of El Toro. An inspiring way to learn about Mediterranean marine biodiversity.

Sharks International is the most important conference on shark science at a world scale. The event which is celebrated every 4 years and was held in Valencia this year, engaged 600 delegates from 69 countries. The program included over 280 speakers and featured a rich diversity of research, presented through posters and digital presentations. Save The Med‘s co-founder Gabriel Morey was invited to present the main results of their research on the spinetail devil ray (Mobula mobular) in a talk titled ‘Unveiling the secret life of the spinetail devil ray around the Balearic Islands (NW Mediterranean): from its occurrence to its behaviour and movement patterns’, along with STM members Dan and Alice who presented STM’s projects.

Save The Med’s project to regenerate the magnificent area of Formentor, located in the northern part of Mallorca, recently organised a successful community event in the area in collaboration with the local NGO Arrels Marines. The aim was to kickstart a community led movement that actively participates in the custody of the area, highlighting the natural values of Formentor while connecting stakeholders and representatives from different sectors of the community (including fisheries, agriculture, education, recreation, conservation and more).

Save The Med have launched the 2023 edition of the Changemakers Project. During the summer the Changemakers students joined the Save The Med team for expeditions at sea, observing wildlife and conducting plastic pollution surveys. Risso’s dolphins, striped dolphins and Spinetail devil rays were some of the species they encountered! Students from the Balearic Islands can now sign up to the recently launched “Changemakers 2023” edition and send their ideas to help reduce the consumption of single-use plastics. Click here to learn more.

Following the heat wave that the Mediterranean has been experiencing since May this year, Save The Med conducted a study to evaluate the state of corals in the Formentor area, in Mallorca. Preliminary findings suggest that there are indeed corals in some areas of Formentor that have been impacted by the heat and have uncoupled from the algae that they live in symbiosis with, leaving only the coral skeleton behind.

During the summer months, Save The Med‘s scientific team are back in the blue, studying the giant devil rays (Mobula mobular) of the Balearic Sea through observation, DNA sampling and satellite tagging. To date, the team has observed more than 120 individuals and recorded very interesting social behaviours as well as dive profiles down to 600m of depth! Their current focus lies on understanding the relationship between the presence of giant devil rays in the area and the oceanographic factors that may contribute to it, ultimately helping to develop a conservation strategy for the species and help protect their habitats.