Passion for cultural maritime heritage with a strong will to preserve the Oceans, that is our work ethic here at Alnitak.We are a Spanish non-profit organisation founded by two young Greenpeace activist. We have sailed the Mediterranean since 1989 in our historical fishing vessel Toftevaag (now retiring), at present we spend our time conducting different projects and citizen science expeditions.
Our scientific campaigns are specifically designed to directly contribute to strategies for the conservation of marine biodiversity and national and international sustainable management policies, integrated into relevant frameworks, especially the European Commission, the FAO, ACCOBAMS, UNEP WFP and the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of the US Government.
Our research expeditions are mainly run in protected areas. We are located in the small stunning village of Sóller located 35mins from Palma de Mallorca (Spain) airport and 12mins drive from Sóller port. The area is a hidden paradise with friendly locals and amazing scenery
We first began with EarthWatch and later in coordination with OceanCare,. In 2017, Alnitak joined LIBERA, an SEO/BirdLife project in collaboration with Ecoembes and since then he has been running the Marine Stewardship Initiative "Todos por la Mar''.
Our mission is to make the ocean a safer place for marine life as well as promote and encourage more sustainable ways of fishing amongst local fishermen and fisheries
our volunteers have been as young as 14 and as old as 85! As long as you have a passion for the ocean, making a difference and being the change along with a willingness to do hard-work and not afraid of getting you hards dirty Alnitak is a unique way to be a part of something important
In 2019, thanks to the Alnitak database, an alarming increase in marine debris originated from fishing activities, and more specifically "ghost FADs", rudimentary fishing artefacts that are extremely dangerous for marine fauna and creates safety risks at sea. Thanks to the support of the Queen Sofia Foundation, we have been able to develop our scientific program "Oceanographer Turtles" focused on the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), helping us to create management tools based on modelling the movements of turtles, marine debris and dangerous artefacts, integrated into the Oceanographic Observation System of the ICTS SOCIB and NOAA.
We subdivide our work into two large programmes: MEDTOP- Scientific projects using top pelagics as Umbrella Species for the conservation of the open sea ecosystem, and Todos Por La Mar- Engaging stakeholders and the general public in practical and tamgible conservation. Alnitak Partenrs with institutes such as the US fish and wildlife service, NOAA, The Balearic Island Costal Observing and forecasting system (SOCIB), Oceancare, Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), IFREMER, Exeter University and many more
Results from the expeditions contribute directly to ongoing research and pioneering in conservation policies making us one of the very few NGOs where you can actually see the effect your volunteer work has on our oceans.
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