Asociación Tursiops
Asociación Tursiops es una ONG española con sede en Palma de Mallorca dedicada a la investigación y conservación de cetáceos (cachalotes y delfines mulares) en el Mediterráneo Occidental, financiada mediante subvenciones públicas, contratos científicos y cuotas de socios.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersBalearic Islands, Spain
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Asociación Tursiops does
Asociación Tursiops es una entidad sin ánimo de lucro española fundada en 1998 y relanzada en 2013 como organización de investigación marina, con sede operativa en Palma (Illes Balears). Su actividad central es la investigación y conservación de cetáceos —principalmente cachalotes y delfines mulares— en el Mediterráneo Occidental balear, generando datos de presencia, distribución, acústica y foto-identificación que se traducen en ciencia aplicada y soporte técnico a la administración pública. La organización dispone de activos operativos propios, entre los que destaca la embarcación de investigación IRIFI y equipos para técnicas como la fotogrametría con drones (proyecto HORUS) y el marcaje satelital (proyecto OCULTA, marzo de 2024, con tres cachalotes etiquetados).
Su modelo de ingresos combina tres vías: una base comunitaria vía cuotas de socios (alrededor de €40 anuales), ingresos por campañas de eco-voluntariado y, sobre todo, contratos y subvenciones concursables. La cartera de financiadores incluye la Fundación Biodiversidad, la Fundación Banco Santander, Marilles Foundation, CaixaBank/Sa Nostra y la Unión Europea a través de consorcios como DiverSEA (proyecto Horizon Europe, octubre 2023). Recientemente Tursiops ha diversificado hacia la monitorización remota mediante alianzas como el proyecto Colisiones con el operador de ferries Baleària, instalando sensores acústicos en rutas comerciales, y ha asegurado un contrato plurianual de 30 meses con TRAGSATEC (filial del MITECO) para foto-identificación de cetáceos.
En el plano institucional, Tursiops actúa como asesor científico del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica (MITECO), habiendo presentado documentación técnica para la recatalogación del cachalote mediterráneo como especie 'En Peligro' en el Catálogo Español de Especies Amenazadas (CEEA). La organización también extiende su alcance hacia la inclusión social a través del proyecto ISHMAEL (2018), llevando ciencia marina a colectivos vulnerables, y ejerce liderazgo comunitario en la Sociedad Española de Cetáceos, organizando el congreso SEC 2022 en Palma.
Asociación Tursiops firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Asociación Tursiops
- Legal name
- Asociación Tursiops
- Website
- https://asociaciontursiops.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Asociación Tursiops es una ONG española con sede en Palma de Mallorca dedicada a la investigación y conservación de cetáceos (cachalotes y delfines mulares) en el Mediterráneo Occidental, financiada mediante subvenciones públicas, contratos científicos y cuotas de socios.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Asociación Tursiops industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marine Conservation Research
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marine Conservation & Citizen-Science Experiences (reef monitoring, turtle walks) (THAAAIAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Marine Wildlife & Coastal Nature Tours (Whale/Dolphin Watching, Sea Kayaking) (THAAAEAD)
Keywords
Where Asociación Tursiops is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Balearic Islands
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Asociación Tursiops business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Annual Membership: Individuals become members for €40/year, receiving updates on activities and invitations to participate in campaigns. Members receive a 10% discount on summer campaign participation.
- Eco-volunteer Campaign Fees: Volunteers participate in week-long research campaigns aboard the IRIFI vessel, covering costs of research activities. Summer campaigns have structured dates and volunteer slots per session.
- Project Grants and Funding: Tursiops receives funding from government bodies (Fundación Biodiversidad, MITECO), foundations (Fundación Banco Santander, Fundació Marilles, CaixaBank/Fundación Sa Nostra), and conservation organizations to execute specific research projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Membership - €40/year |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Asociación Tursiops product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Asociación Tursiops is a non-profit marine research association that conducts scientific study of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) in the Mediterranean Sea around the Balearic Islands. Its core offering is field-based cetacean research delivered through the dedicated vessel IRIFI, using passive acoustic monitoring, photo-identification, satellite tagging, and drone photogrammetry, combined with citizen-science eco-volunteer campaigns and educational outreach.
Product overview
Asociación Tursiops is a marine research organization conducting cetacean research in the Balearic Islands and western Mediterranean through a portfolio of interconnected research projects and field programmes. The core offering is the Balearic Sperm Whale Project, a long-running ecovolunteer-based sperm whale population study conducted aboard the research vessel IRIFI. This is complemented by a suite of focused sub-projects addressing specific research questions: Els Nostres Dofins and MASKING investigate underwater noise and acoustic communication in bottlenose dolphins; OCULTA and HORUS study sperm whale diving physiology and body condition; FOTOID provides systematic photo-identification monitoring under a government contract; COLISIONES addresses ship-strike risk; MOBY MUMMY surveys nursery areas; AQUILES and Delfines de Cabrera study bottlenose dolphin-fisheries interactions in Cabrera; and DIVERSEA contributes to a multi-country Horizon Europe coastal biodiversity programme. Cross-cutting these projects, Tursiops deploys a technology stack comprising Soundtrap underwater acoustic recorders, satellite tags (LIMPET and CATS-Diary), and drone-based photogrammetry. Field operations are conducted from the IRIFI sailing vessel, and results are disseminated through the ISHMAEL ecovolunteer social-inclusion programme and summer campaign volunteer expeditions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cetacean Field Research Campaigns
- Eco-Volunteer Campaigns (Citizen Science Expeditions)
- Annual Membership
- Educational Outreach and Workshops
- FOTOID Project
- Social Inclusion Activities for Vulnerable Groups
Quantifiable outcome
- 7 hydrophones deployed across Pitiusas for year-round passive acoustic monitoring
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Asociación Tursiops
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Asociación Tursiops technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature3 records
Asociación Tursiops partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- BaleàriacoreBaleària provides ferry access for the Colisiones project, enabling Tursiops researchers to conduct cetacean observation surveys aboard the Cecilia Payne on the Palma-Ibiza-Dénia route. Baleària's crews actively support the research activities during voyages.
- University of St AndrewscoreCollaborates with Tursiops on the Balearic Sperm Whale Project. Professor Luke Rendell from the university is a long-standing scientific advisor and keynote speaker at SEC 2022. Contributes expertise in acoustic communication and social learning in sperm whales.
- TRAGSATEC (for Marine Strategies project)coreExecuting the FOTOID photo-identification contract for the Ministry's Marine Strategies project, monitoring sperm whale and bottlenose dolphin populations in the Levantino-Balear Demarcation over ~30 months.
- DiverSEA Consortium (19 institutions, 13 countries)coreTursiops participates in the DiverSEA project funded by Horizon Europe (4-year program). Focuses on integrated observation, mapping, monitoring and prediction of functional biodiversity in coastal marine ecosystems. Led by Norwegian University of Science and Technology; includes major European marine research institutions.
- Projecte Home BalearsminorSocial inclusion organization collaborating on the Ishmael project, bringing socially vulnerable individuals to participate in research campaigns as a therapeutic experience.
- Institut de la Dona de EivissaminorRegional women's institute collaborating on the Ishmael project since 2019, providing participants for research campaign experiences.
- Enrico Pirota (Washington State University)minorMarine ecologist affiliated with Washington State University, serving as a long-standing scientific companion to Tursiops, working on analytical method development for marine mammal-environment interactions.
- Manolo Castellote (NMFS / University of Washington)minorResearcher at the Marine Mammal Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service (US) and University of Washington; listed as a close scientific friend of Tursiops.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Asociación Tursiops competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CIRCE (Conservación, Información y Estudio sobre Cetáceos): Spanish cetacean conservation and research organization historically focused on the Strait of Gibraltar. Comparable to Tursiops as a Spanish cetacean-research NGO producing science to inform marine protected-area and species-protection policy.
- SUBMON: Barcelona-based marine research and conservation non-profit working on cetaceans, marine biodiversity, and ocean threats in Spain. Closely comparable to Tursiops in mission (rigorous marine science supporting conservation policy), funding model (grants + volunteers), and Spanish-Mediterranean geographic focus.
- Alnitak: Portuguese marine science non-profit running long-term cetacean research campaigns using a dedicated research vessel, photo-identification, and eco-volunteer expeditions in the NE Atlantic/Mediterranean. Highly comparable operating model to Tursiops — vessel-based fieldwork, citizen-science volunteers, and photo-ID catalogue maintenance.
Broad incumbents
- OceanCare: Switzerland-based marine conservation organization with a strong cetacean and underwater-noise policy program. Comparable as a larger, better-funded peer operating in the same cetacean-conservation and noise-pollution policy space, with broader geographic reach and longer operating history.
- Sea Shepherd: Global marine conservation non-profit with Mediterranean operations and vessel-based fieldwork. Comparable as a marine-conservation peer with a fleet-and-crew operating model, though oriented toward direct-action enforcement rather than the academic research focus of Tursiops.
- WWF Mediterranean: Mediterranean arm of WWF, which funds and conducts marine research and Marine Protected Area advocacy in the region, including in Spanish waters. Comparable as a larger, well-resourced conservation actor working on overlapping Mediterranean policy outcomes with Tursiops.
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC): UK-headquartered global charity dedicated specifically to cetacean protection. Comparable to Tursiops as a cetacean-specialist NGO, but with substantially larger scale, international membership, and policy influence.
- Oceana: International ocean-conservation organization running scientific campaigns that feed EU fisheries and marine-protected-area policy. Comparable to Tursiops at the broader level — both produce marine science that supports policy — but operates at global scale with a paid-membership and major-donor funding model.
Regional players
- Pacific Whale Foundation: Hawaii-based cetacean research and eco-tourism non-profit running vessel-based whale research, photo-identification, and paid eco-volunteer programs. Highly comparable operating model (research vessel + eco-volunteer fees + grant funding), but operating in the Pacific rather than the Mediterranean.
Others
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO / CSIC): Spain's national oceanographic research institute, which conducts cetacean and marine-biodiversity research and is referenced in Spanish Marine Strategies frameworks alongside Tursiops. Comparable as a Spanish marine-science peer, though government-funded rather than donation-funded and much larger.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Asociación Tursiops social profiles
Digital presenceAsociación Tursiops financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Asociación Tursiops leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Asociación Tursiops funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Asociación Tursiops M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Asociación Tursiops
What does Asociación Tursiops do?
Asociación Tursiops is a non-profit marine research association that conducts scientific study of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) in the Mediterranean Sea around the Balearic Islands. Its core offering is field-based cetacean research delivered through the dedicated vessel IRIFI, using passive acoustic monitoring, photo-identification, satellite tagging, and drone photogrammetry, combined with citizen-science eco-volunteer campaigns and educational outreach.
Is Asociación Tursiops a public or private company?
Asociación Tursiops is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Asociación Tursiops founded?
Asociación Tursiops was founded in 1998. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Asociación Tursiops based?
Asociación Tursiops is headquartered in Balearic Islands, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does Asociación Tursiops make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Annual Membership is the primary driver. The others are eco-volunteer Campaign Fees and project Grants and Funding.
Who are Asociación Tursiops's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CIRCE (Conservación, Información y Estudio sobre Cetáceos), SUBMON and Alnitak. Broad incumbents are OceanCare, Sea Shepherd, WWF Mediterranean, Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and Oceana. Pacific Whale Foundation is listed as a regional player. Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO / CSIC) is listed as an others.
Does Asociación Tursiops have an API?
No public API is recorded for Asociación Tursiops.
What industry is Asociación Tursiops in?
Asociación Tursiops's product category is Marine Conservation Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAAAIAH, Marine Conservation & Citizen-Science Experiences (reef monitoring, turtle walks), with a secondary code of THAAAEAD, Marine Wildlife & Coastal Nature Tours (Whale/Dolphin Watching, Sea Kayaking).