MARECET IN THE MEDIA
2024
Discover the fascinating world of dolphins and whales right here in Malaysia in this Berita Harian Online article (in Bahasa Melayu) titled, "27 ikan lumba-lumba, paus antara haiwan marin ditemui di perairan Malaysia", that showcased our commitment to marine conservation in Malaysia and shedding light on the importance of preserving dolphins, whales and porpoises.
MareCet made it into TV3 Malaysia's Majalah 3 in their latest feature documentary (in Bahasa Melayu) focused on DOLPHINS! Titled "Peluncur Samudera" (Ocean Surfers), this hour-long feature shines the spotlight on our research and conservation work on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins around the Langkawi Archipelago, our efforts in reducing dolphin bycatch (accidental entanglement in fishing gear) by working with local fishers in Perak, and our marine outreach and education efforts with local communities. We shared the feature spotlight in this documentary with the Department of Fisheries Malaysia - check out the cool marine mammal skeletons they have at their gallery in Dungun, Terengganu!
MareCet's efforts in marine mammal research and conservation was featured by regional environmental media project EcoCupid in this article, titled, "MareCet: Transforming Passion into Action for Marine Mammal Conservation". May Cupid's arrow strike more passionate hearts out there to join us in this mission to protect marine mammals and their habitats - the ocean which supports life on Earth.
April 2024 saw MareCet's first ever participation in the Wildlife Conservation Network's Spring Expo in Redwood City, California, USA. Our Executive Director and Co-Founder, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam, delivered an impactful presentation to an audience of wildlife conservation enthusiasts and supporters. The talk is now online and may be viewed HERE.
MareCet's work was picked up by EuroNews, as featured in this short video titled, "Malaysian scientists save marine mammals by listening to the sounds of the sea". Check it out as Dr Vivian Kuit, MareCet's Scientific Officer, and Dr Saliza Bono, MareCet's Bioacoustics Officer, take viewers through our current research and conservation efforts on cetaceans in Perak and beyond.
MareCet's Executive Director and Co-Founder, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam, who has been leading our organisation at its helm for the last 12 years, is one of Prestige Malaysia's Women of Power 2024. She's always lived her life and operated on the principle that the sky's the limit - that being a woman shouldn't limit what we can or cannot do. Dr Louisa went against the grid, in a sea of naysayers, to turn her childhood dream of being a marine mammal scientist and conservationist into reality. For just one day, she exchanged her field clothes for a more dressed up look. Check out what she has to say in this feature short video by Prestige magazine!
Our new documentary, 'Dugong Tears & Sea Stories of Pulau Sibu', is now live on MareCet TV, our YouTube channel! This documentary highlights the islanders' deep insights about dugongs, including the myths from the past, along with fascinating sea stories they’ve shared. It also features the islanders’ hopes and dreams for the future of their island. The documentary also captures the essence of the dugong research and conservation efforts of MareCet since 2014 till the present, and our own hopes for the dugong's survival in the Mersing Archipelago. Additionally, this short show showcases the journey of creating our recently produced short film, 'Cara Pulau Kita', from the ground up; with the community involved in every step of the way. Please enjoy the sea stories that we're presenting to you, with love, from Pulau Sibu-Tinggi to the world! The making of this documentary was made possible by funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
Together with the local islanders of Pulau Sibu, Johor, we made a short film titled, 'Cara Pulau Kita' (Our Island, Our Way). This light-hearted film casts light on some of the challenges they face on the island and showcases how their unity empowers them to overcome these obstacles as a community. From scripting to shooting and even directing, they did it all! The making of this short film was made possible by funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
"Are there dolphins and dugongs in Malaysia?" "Can we book a trip out to the sea for a chance to see them and learn about them?" The answer is YES! Let's hear from MareCet's Executive Director and Co-Founder, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam, and Marine Excursions Coordinator, Kimberly Wong, as they shared about the marine excursions that MareCet carefully curates for all age groups of people to learn about Malaysia's marine mammals, understated natural beauty, and our organization's marine conservation efforts. Take a listen to Earth Matters on BFM Radio 89.9, in this podcast titled, "Merry Marine Excursions & The Cheerful Blue Classroom"!
Check out this fun piece - MareCet's "Planet U" feature video in collaboration with telco U Mobile, with Jasmine, our Outreach and Education Coordinator in the spotlight, telling us all about the work we do and sharing some fun facts about none other than marine mammals in Malaysia (of course!).
Many of you may know who is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of MareCet, but did you know about how her dive into this field of marine mammal research and conservation unravelled with each rising and receding tide ever since she was a teenager? Here's a feature article by NST Online titled, "Meet the 'Dolphin Girl': Navigating Malaysian seas to save dolphins and marine life!", about how Dr Louisa Ponnampalam's career came to be. She hopes it will inspire others to dream the seemingly impossible and make it a reality.
Our friends Hanna and Jonas at Biking4Biodiversity have penned a fantastic blog post titled, "Guardians of the blue: MareCet’s quest to save Malaysia’s marine mammals", which details their experience volunteering with us in Perak! This was part of their cycling round-the-world adventure in search of meaningful conservation projects to support and raise awareness for. Dive into their insightful write-up!
Guess what? Sher Lynn, our Programme and Operations Manager was featured in Wiki Impact's "5 Malaysians Working in the Impact Industry Today". Check out her impactful statement that will hopefully inspire future generations of changemakers in our country and around the world!
Take a listen, as MareCet's Executive Director and Co-Founder, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam spoke to Juliet Jacobs on BFM Radio 89.9 about our curated excursions to Mersing and Pulau Sibu in Johor, on Episode 13 of "Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta"! (If you don't know it, then you won't love it)
2023
Thank you Sustainable Tourism Malaysia for featuring us in this article titled, "Waves of Change - More than just an act of service". This article accurately captures our typical days on the boat, collecting data for our survey. At MareCet, we provide volunteering opportunities and educational excursions for anyone interested in learning and contributing to marine conservation. Dive right in and get a glimpse of what it's like to volunteer with us!
Local Bahasa Melayu daily, Berita Harian, chatted with MareCet about the work we do on marine mammal research and conservation, which resulted in the following article titled, "27 ikan lumba-lumba, paus antara haiwan marin ditemui di perairan Malaysia".
The Wildlife Conservation Network featured MareCet's efforts in closing the gap of capacity on marine mammal stranding response efforts in Malaysia amongst local stakeholders in a blog article titled, "Responding to stranded marine mammals".
MareCet won TWO local Malaysian AWARDS!!! Our work was recognised and earned us the 2023 Star Golden Hearts Award and Gamuda Inspiration Award. Check out the video titled, "Uncovering and protecting Malaysia's hidden marine life" which showcases our work, produced by The Star in conjunction with the awards. Our feature article, in conjunction with being a winner, titled, "Braving the elements for research" was also published by The Star.
MareCet's recently published encyclopedic children's storybook about the adventures of a little Indo-Pacific finless porpoise calf around the beautiful Langkawi archipelago, authored by none other than Dr Louisa Ponnampalam, was featured in the following article by The Star titled, "Purpose of porpoise book to raise awareness among children".
MareCet recently published an encyclopedic children's storybook centered around the adventures of a little Indo-Pacific finless porpoise calf around the beautiful Langkawi archipelago, authored by none other than Dr Louisa Ponnampalam. She recently chatted with Juliet Jacobs at BFM 89.9 Radio about the inspiration and meaning behind the book, and what she hoped it would achieve for marine conservation. Take a listen to the podcast HERE.
Tatler Malaysia spoke to MareCet's Chairperson and Co-Founder, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam in their June 2023 magazine issue in the following article titled, "The Conservationist Who Is Protecting Malaysia's Marine Mammals".
MareCet's Chairperson and Co-Founder, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam was recognised as 1 of 30 honourees in Malaysia, and 1 of 300 across Asia in Tatler's 2023 Gen.T List, recognising the rising leaders of today and tomorrow who are blazing the trails and making a positive impact on society and this changing world! She is featured on the list HERE.
In conjunction with World Ocean Day 2023, our very own Scientific Officer, Dr Vivian Kuit, along with Irfan Mawardi from Reef Stakes spoke to Astro AWANI's Farhana Sheikh about ocean conservation on the AWANI television programme episode titled, "It's About YOUth: Empowering youth to be guardians of the oceans".
Read the new article about MareCet's research efforts and experiences on marine mammals in Kedah and Perlis waters, in this contributed article by Dr P in the June 2023 edition of The Penang Monthly magazine titled, "Not Just Passing Through: Marine Mammals Are Native to Our Northwestern Shores".
2022
Our very own Dr P won 3rd place at the inaugural Blue Water Heroes Award, where the awards ceremony was held on 4 November 2022 in Singapore. The event was part of the inaugural Blue Water EduFest, and Dr P was 1 of 10 nominated finalists from around Southeast Asia. This event and award was co-organised by ONE15 Marina and Gen.T to recognise the efforts of marine conservationists working across Southeast Asia to protect the region's marine life and ecosystems, and empower local communities in coastal areas. To view photos from the awards night, click HERE.
MareCet's Whales On-The-Wheels Mobile Marine Education Exhibition commenced its nationwide tour in February 2022, travelling and making stops from Johor Bahru all the way up to Kuala Perlis thus far. Read all about this one-of-a-kind exhibition, and the idea which inspired the programme in the first place in the following article in The Star titled, "Dive into world of sea mammals". Additionally, coverage of the tour also made it into the evening news of Buletin TV3 and into local Chinese news media outlets Guang Ming Daily, Sin Chew Daily and Nan Yang Siang Pau!
Our blog article was picked up by Conservation Careers and adapted for their website in this article titled, "So you want to be a marine conservationist? Consider these realities before diving in". Please enjoy the read, especially if you are in the midst of considering a career in this field of work.
Any Spanish language speakers out there? Here is a beautifully written article by Maria Marcos, a volunteer during MareCet's March 2022 whale survey in the offshore waters of Kedah, written for Spanish travel website Con Mochila. The article is titled, "En busca de ballenas en mar abierto en Malasia" (Looking for whales in the open sea in Malaysia), where she detailed her time and experience with our team scouring the open waters for Bryde's whales and other species of cetaceans.
MareCet's bioacoustician, Saliza Bono, presented a Morris Animal Foundation x TEDxMileHigh talk on YouTube titled, "How does human-made noise impact ocean wildlife?". Do tune in to find out more about how underwater noise can impact marine mammals, and the conservation-driven bioacoustics work we do here at MareCet.
Drawing upon her love for travel and discovery, Zafigo featured Dr P in the following "The World With.....Dr Louisa Ponnampalam" article, where she shared about some of the amazing places and experiences around the world that work has taken her, and also shared about MareCet's Whales On-The-Wheels Mobile Marine Education Nationwide Tour and all the places where the traveling exhibition will call upon in 2022 and 2023.
MareCet's research and conservation work was featured in this article titled, "Local NGO MareCet makes waves in marine-mammal conservation", published online by local news media outlet Free Malaysia Today.
Our Marine Excursions & The Blue Classroom by MareCet were featured in this #WorldWildlifeDay article by Zafigo titled,"Experience Malaysian Wildlife With These 5 Expeditions". Come check it out, and read about our excursions to Kuala Sepetang, Perak, and Pulau Sibu, Johor.
The Morris Animal Foundation in the USA is currently funding MareCet's research on the impacts of underwater noise pollution on dolphins in northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. The Foundation recently featured our work in an article on their website titled, "New Study Will Assess Boat Noise Impacts to Dolphins".
It is 2022, which means MareCet is now 10! To celebrate and appreciate this significant milestone, and also to share about MareCet's Whales On-The-Wheels Mobile Marine Education Nationwide Tour that kicked off in February 2022, Dr P spoke to Juliet Jacobs on BFM - The Business Station 89.9 FM in the following 'Earth Matters' podcast titled, "MARECET AT 10: SAVING MARINE LIFE WITH PASSION AND ‘PORPOISE’".
2021
The Morris Animal Foundation in the USA is currently funding MareCet's research on the impacts of underwater noise pollution on dolphins in northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. The Foundation recently featured our work in an article on their website titled, "Is Underwater Noise Stressing Out Malaysian Dolphins?"
In conjunction with World Conservation Day for 2021, The Edge published their Conservation Issue, which featured the work of several wildlife conservationists and their conservation organizations in Malaysia in a series of articles. Have a read of the feature article on Dr P and MareCet titled, "MareCet co-founder Dr Louisa Ponnampalam on championing marine mammal research and conservation in Malaysia".
MareCet's bioacoustician, Saliza Bono was featured by the Lighthouse Field Station at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in their #LHScienceWomen campaign. Read all about Saliza's work on harbour porpoises at her Scottish alma mater and dolphin bioacoustics in Malaysia, and her research journey thus far in this feature on Facebook and also HERE.
MareCet was featured on the Dugong and Seagrass Hub website for the ongoing progress of the IKI seagrass ecosystems services project, of which we are a National Partner for Malaysia. The post details our trip to Johor in March 2021 and the next steps following the lockdown period. Read all about the Exciting steps forward for SES project in Malaysia.
In 2020, MareCet celebrated the 10th year anniversary of the Langkawi Dolphin Research Project, our flagship project. The Conservation Leadership Programme traveled back through a decade with us and paid tribute to our project by featuring it in their CLP news article titled, "The Langkawi Dolphin Research Project: A decade of discoveries, tribulations and triumphs".
Dr P was invited to speak at the American Cetacean Society's virtual conference, where she presented a talk titled, "Cetacean Research and Conservation on a Shoestring — A Malaysian Example". Her insightful talk can be viewed on YouTube HERE.
2020
MareCet finally has its own YouTube channel! Please subscribe to our MareCet TV channel, as we gradually populate it with videos (of marine mammals) from the field, and other marine conservation videos!
Sandra Teoh, our Langkawi Dolphin Research Project leader is now a Wildlife Conservation Network Scholar, having been awarded the Steven K Beckendorf Scholarship for Wildlife Conservation for her doctoral studies at the University of Malaya. Read all about her research plans and aspirations, and what it means to be a young dolphin conservationist in the article titled, “Empowering young conservationists where they live”.
The year 2020 goes down in history as the Year of COVID-19. Despite the setbacks brought about globally by the pandemic, MareCet’s work continued. Take a listen to our Vice-Chairperson, Fairul Izmal share on BFM 89.9’s Earth Matters programme about COVID-19 and the Ocean - What does the future hold for marine ecosystems?
The Pew Charitable Trusts who awarded Dr P with a prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation in 2014 featured her efforts and MareCet’s efforts on dugong research and conservation in Pulau Sibu-Tinggi Archipelago, Johor, in the following online feature article available at the following link: In Malaysia, Science Is Key to Dugong’s Recovery and Survival
Dr P was 1 of 100 women cetologists whose career journey and stories were featured in the American Cetacean Society's special edition newsletter, Whalewatcher. Her story of ambitions and perseverance as a cetacean scientist and conservationist may be read on pages 74 - 79 at the following LINK.
Prestige Malaysia featured Dr P in their all-female 40 Under-40 hour roll, alongside 39 other very inspiring Malaysian women ranging from business entrepreneurs, national athletes, aid workers, a teacher, doctors, corporate managers and designers, just to name a few. The link to the feature article can be found HERE.
MareCet's research and information on marine mammals in Malaysia were featured in this article in Malaysian Chinese news daily Nanyang Siang Pau, titled, 保护海洋 大马处处有海豚.
Our partner Wildcards featured MareCet's work and unveils the "perception mystery about marine mammals" amongst Malaysians in their blog in an article titled, "Malaysia has marine mammals?"
MareCet participated in the Wildlife Conservation Network's Fall Virtual Expo, where Sandra and Dr P spoke to the audience of wildlife enthusiasts about our research and conservation work on marine mammals in Malaysia, and the challenges faced while working in this field. Their talk can be viewed on YouTube HERE.
Dr P spoke to Fairil Desa at Wild Junctions during one lockdown afternoon and shared her insights on marine mammal research and conservation in Malaysia, focusing on the work that MareCet undertakes. The virtual chat can be viewed HERE.
2019
Dr P had a chat with another Dr P - Dr Chris Parsons, for a Marine Mammal Science podcast, where she talked about MareCet’s purpose, our research work in Malaysia and all the interesting facts we’ve discovered about Malaysian marine mammals to date, all while saying what a cool species Indo-Pacific finless porpoises really are! The podcast is available on Spotify and also at the following URL: MMS 16: Malaysian Marine Mammals With Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam
MareCet’s award-winning research and conservation efforts on dolphins and porpoises in Langkawi-Perlis and the measures taken to have the area recognised internationally as an IUCN Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) was featured by Flora and Fauna International and also the Conservation Leadership Programme at the following links:
Dolphin-friendly designation - Protecting vital marine habitat in Malaysia
Dolphin-friendly designation – Promoting transboundary protection of rare marine mammals
Jennifer Doong of Breaking Bio spoke to Dr P to ask her about the challenges of working in the field of marine science and conservation, from her perspective as a female Asian scientist and conservationist. You may take a listen to their conversation at: Interview with Dr Louisa Ponnampalam, Chairperson and Co-Founder of MareCet,
In conjunction with World Oceans Day 2019, Dr P, Fairul and our Council Member Ravinder were among several conservationists who were asked to give their thoughts on marine conservation and what we, as a human race need to do to safeguard our precious seas and oceans before it is too late. Read what they had to say at: Conservationists band together to give us a message about our oceans on World Oceans Day
2018
MareCet had the support of 1Utama Shopping Centre via the mall’s “Feed-The-Fish and Recycle-A-Bottle “Go Green” community projects. Read on to learn more about MareCet’s work in Langkawi and other parts of Malaysia, as told to journalists whilst cruising aboard a catamaran in the tropical emerald Andaman Sea in the following articles, Mall donates to conserve Malaysian dolphins and Langkawi has dolphins too, but they are in danger and need your support
Our Council Member, Vivian Kuit presented a TEDxUCSIUniversity talk on whales and dolphins in Malaysia.
2017
Our Vice-Chairperson, Fairul Izmal shared about his own childhood dreams and passion for whales and dolphins, a life spent building up MareCet and the challenges of working in conservation in the newspaper article titled A whale of a future.
MareCet raised concerns over a planned mega development in Kuala Kedah that had the potential to impact coastal dolphin habitat in the area in the following opinion letter to the media titled Protecting the coastal environment is equally vital.
2016
Our co-founders, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam and Fairul Jamal were on air on BFM 89.9's Earth Matters programme on 22 February 2016 to provide some valuable insights on why marine mammals strand, and what to do when one encounters a stranding event.
http://www.bfm.my/louisa-ponnampalam-fairul-izmal-jamal-hisne-marine-mammal-strandings.html
Our Chairperson and co-founder, Dr Louisa Ponnampalam, gave an interview to star2's Ecowatch segment on the little-known presence of dolphins in the Port Klang region as well as some facts on dolphin research and conservation threats in Perak and the wider Peninsular Malaysia. Check out Our rarely seen and little known dolphin species need some care.
2015
Our Chairperson, Dr Ponnampalam, was on air at BFM 89.9's Earth Matters programme on 28 September 2015, talking to Meera Sivasothy about the state of the Malaysia's marine environment and how it's affecting marine mammals, marine life, and ultimately, us humans.
Come follow us on a 1-minute dive and explore some cool facts about dugongs and our ongoing research on dugongs in the country!
2014
Our Vice-Chairperson, Fairul Jamal, presented about dugong conservation needs in Malaysia at the 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress held in Sydney, Australia, with a presentation titled "Aligning research needs and conservation objectives in MPA design".
We are incredibly proud to announce that our Chairperson Dr Louisa Ponnampalam was awarded the prestigious 2014 PEW FELLOWSHIP IN MARINE CONSERVATION in March 2014! This award is given by the Pew Charitable Trusts in the USA, and is given to mid-career conservationists with the potential to effect conservation in an innovative manner. To read all about Dr P's award in the media, you may click on the following articles:
Announcement on Pew Fellows website
Commonwealth Scholarship Alumni News - Protecting the dugong and Malaysia's marine habitats
MareCet's Langkawi Dolphin Research Project was featured in the March 2014 issue of the ABWM (Association of British Women in Malaysia) magazine. To read the article, click here.
MareCet was featured in the April 2014 issue of Resource Magazine, a magazine for the Malaysian Petroleum Club members, in a piece entitled, "Saving Our Marine Life". To read the article, click here.
Our Chairperson, Dr Ponnampalam, was on air at BFM 89.9's The Bigger Picture programme on 4 Apr 2014, talking to Meera Sivasothy about her journey in marine biology, her recent win of the prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation and her current efforts on studying the dugongs in Johor.
Our Chairperson, Dr Ponnampalam, was featured in the April 2014 issue of Faces Magazine, in a collated article about current local environmental issues. To read the article, click here.
Our Chairperson, Dr P, was featured in the 'People' section of Issue 099 of Focus Malaysia newspaper. Read all about her outlook on marine conservation in Malaysia and how she has journeyed through the different phases of her ever-developing career. To read the article, click here.
Dr Jenny Cantlay was an expatriate living in Kuala Lumpur. A vet by training, she volunteered on MareCet’s Langkawi Dolphin Research Project and here is what she had to say about it to ExpatGo when she was On the Lookout for Dolphins in Langkawi.
A planned dolphinarium in Langkawi received opposition from MareCet. We wrote in to the media to express our opinion on the matter, taking the firm stand - Dolphinarium not good idea.
2013
Vice-Chairperson, Fairul Izmal was featured in the March 2013 Green Issue of FACES magazine, as one of their 10 selected “Eco-Warriors”. Check out what they wrote about our very own eco-warrior here.
MareCet was featured in the November 2013 issue of the MANZA Magazine (MANZA stands for Malaysian Australian New Zealand Association). To read the article, click here.
MareCet's Langkawi Dolphin Research Project was featured in the July 2013 issue of the Lestari Langkawi magazine. To read the article, click here.
Our Chairperson, Dr Ponnampalam, delivering her TEDxYouth@KL talk on 16 Nov 2013 titled, "Whales, dolphins and what the sea is saying".
Our Chairperson and Co-Founder, Dr Ponnampalam, was interviewed live on Bernama Today (Bernama TV, Astro Channel 502) on 30 April 2013, about MareCet and our efforts for marine mammal research and conservation in Malaysia.
Earlier
Dr Louisa Ponnampalam interviewed by BFM (17th August 2011).
MareCet’s Langkawi Dolphin Research was featured in The Star Newspaper on 23 October 2012.
Read all about it here.