The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group was formed in December 1990 as the main organization that dedicates itself to the conservation of and research on the Irish whales, dolphins and porpoises. Since then it has blossomed into an internationally renowned organisation and the most influential NGO in Ireland.

Their mission is to promote a better understanding of cetaceans and their habitat by working on education and research. This is accomplished by collecting and distributing information and collaborating with universities, the government and research groups. Their sighting and stranding schemes form their core functioning and are meant to point decision-makers and researchers in the right direction, highlighting which questions need to be asked.

Lorenzo De Bonis and I did this professional practice together under the supervision of Simon Berrow. He is one of the founding members of the IWDG and has been their CEO since 2000 as well as the Chief Science Officer. He is also the Project Manager at the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation and lectures full time at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.

To improve my understanding of which career path I would like to follow after the master I wanted to get an overview of all the different projects and activities the IWDG is involved in, even the ones that didn’t directly relate to the topic of my professional practice. This is why I set up short get-togethers with some of our supervisor's colleagues. Each one of them had a slightly different view on dolphin conservation and what things were important to pay attention to, shaped by their experiences and specialisations.