FIU marine researcher Jeremy Kiszka is collaborating with Fahlo, a company that sells wildlife-themed bracelets paired with an app providing real-time tracking information for endangered species. Each bracelet, priced at $16.95, comes with a QR code granting access to the app where users can follow the movements of individual whales or dolphins being tracked by Kiszka’s lab.
Fahlo co-founders Carter Forbes and DJ Gunter connected with Kiszka through Tristan Guttridge, who serves as a courtesy research associate professor at FIU and is also director and chief scientist at Saving the Blue. Guttridge’s team provides tracking data for Fahlo’s shark bracelets. The partnership between Fahlo and FIU began when Kiszka sought to expand his research on whale and dolphin movement from the Caribbean to the Arctic. After launching dolphin tracking in collaboration with FIU, Fahlo later introduced whale bracelets featuring research on sperm whales in Arctic waters.
Bracelets are available for purchase through Fahlo’s website, beach shops, surf shops, and natural history museums worldwide. Users can observe how their chosen animal responds during hurricanes or extreme heat waves via the app. An update to the app now includes additional content from scientists such as back stories, tagging locations, field videos, and updates on newly tagged animals.
Tracking is guaranteed for at least six months; if an animal’s tag stops transmitting before then, users receive another animal to follow. Tags generally stay attached for several months but have sometimes lasted longer—one male sperm whale has transmitted its location for nearly 400 days according to Kiszka.
“Customers want to feel closer to their animals and know that these purchases mean something,” said Samanta Erb, head of content for Fahlo. “They get so attached (and we get it, because we do too) that there’s real grief when any of the animals reach the end of their research journey.”
Erb noted that customer investment exceeded expectations: “Dolphins are definitely one of those eternally iconic animals,” she said. “Their charismatic nature makes them really special, and that means people want to help protect them.”
To date, Fahlo has donated over $4.5 million to nonprofit partners supporting various species including gorillas and dolphins. Ten percent of each dolphin bracelet sale goes directly back into Kiszka’s research efforts.
Kiszka’s team focuses on how dolphins and whales respond to environmental stressors such as hurricanes, heat waves caused by climate change, maritime traffic, and pollution—data which helps inform conservation management strategies.
“Studying movement patterns today helps us so we can predict what could happen in the future,” said Kiszka. “The scientific value of the data collected is far beyond my expectations, and I’m very excited to continue this partnership with Fahlo.”
Fahlo has expanded its product line by introducing plush toys aimed at younger children—the dolphin plush launched in October 2024—and plans are underway for a killer whale series set to begin tagging this winter.
“Our relationship with Jeremy and FIU has been nothing short of incredible, and every project gets us more and more excited about what’s to come,” Erb added.
These bracelets support ongoing marine science work by enabling ocean enthusiasts worldwide not only to track animals but also contribute financially toward continued research efforts led by FIU scientists like Kiszka.
