Ongoing activities
Besides the two long-term Tethys projects, the Cetacean Sanctuary Research and the Ionian Dolphin Project, conducted since the early 90’s in the Ligurian Sea and Western Greece, respectively, our research personnel is involved in conservation-oriented initiatives covering a wide range of subjects. Some on-going activities include
Cetacei FAI Attenzione!
A public awareness and citizen science project was launched in summer 2018, mainly sponsored by FAI Fondo Ambiente Italiano and carried out with the collaboration of the italian Coast Guard. Aim of the project is to collect sightings of cetaceans in italian waters, reported by the public, namely owners of pleasure boats, whale watching and other organisations. Special attention is given to sightings of Risso’s dolphins, which apparently have moved from Tethys’ study area. Information is displayed in harbours and marinas along the italian coasts, from Liguria to Sicily, also presenting a code of conduct for boats approaching whales or dolphins.
Watching whales and dolphins in their natural environment
Whales and dolphins are being studied in their natural environment; Tethys runs two long-term projects which are open to the participation of the public: one in Italy, in the north western part of the Mediterranean, and one in Greece, in the Eastern Ionian Sea.
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IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force
The Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (MMPATF) has been created by the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Marine Vice Chair, and members of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) to help support a stronger global profile for the role of marine mammals in protected areas, and to provide a stronger voice for the MMPA constituency within IUCN.
From 2016-2021, the Task Force will be focusing on setting up a series of regional workshops to identify Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs), beginning with the Mediterranean in 2016, followed by the South Pacific, the Northeast Indian, the Northwest Indian and the Southeast Pacific oceans, and the waters of Oceania surrounding Australia and New Zealand.
Want to be part of our field work team?
Meet whales and dolphins not just by whale watching, but by helping researchers concerned with marine conservation; Tethys’ ongoing long term projects have been conceived as responsible tourism/citizen science projects: non-specialists are a valuable help for researchers in the field and their support is essential.
A specific web site is dedicated to Tethys’ research expeditions open to non-specialised participants
Help us protecting our marine environment
Meet whales and dolphins not just by whale watching, but by helping researchers concerned with marine conservation; Tethys’ ongoing long term projects have been conceived as responsible tourism/citizen science projects: non-specialists are a valuable help for researchers in the field and their support is essential.
Dolphins and whales in the Mediterranean are increasingly in danger, exposed to threats ranging from habitat degradation, scarcity of prey caused by overfishing to noise. Contribute to their conservation by supporting the Tethys Research Institute and its work.
Befriend a sperm whale from the Pelagos Sanctuary or donate its friendship to someone you love. With this symbolic gift you will support the research and conservation of Mediterranean cetaceans through the Tethys Research Institute.
Tethys contributes to OBIS SEA MAP
Tethys’ dataset of cetacean sightings has been included in OBIS SEAMAP, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations; this is a spatially-referenced online database, which was developed by Duke University. His purpose is to aggregate observation data from across the globe about marine mammals, seabirds and sea-turtles.
Tethys’ dataset comprises the work carried out between 1986 and 2012 during shipboard surveys, conducted mainly in the Mediterranean Sea, and especially in the Corso-Ligurian-Provencal basin, in the Ionian Sea and in the Adriatic Sea. Extra Mediterranean Tethys’ cetaceans sightings, collected in the Atlantic Ocean(Canary Islands, Morocco coasts) and in the Caribbean Sea, has been also provided.
Our partnerships
Tethys on Wikipedia
