• Conservation

  • Research

  • Public awareness

  • Education

  • Support to international conservation

A non-profit research organisation supporting marine conservation through science and public awareness with a focus on large marine vertebrates

Research

Conservation

Public awareness

37 years of experience

Since 1986 we are committed to preserve marine environment through the provision of scientific knowledge

Tethys is a partner of LIFE-SEADETECT, a project aimed at creating an automated system for reducing the risk of collision between vessels and marine mammals or other floating obstacles.

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“Eye in the Sky” is the name of the pilot project undertaken by the Italian Coast Guard in 2022 and 2023, in collaboration with Tethys, within the Pelagos Sanctuary.

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The Bluescape project, funded by the Pelagos Initiative, aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of blue carbon stocks and fluxes within the Pelagos Sanctuary

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Our latest publications

Climate change and cetacean habitat suitability in the Mediterranean Sea: a challenge for Marine Strategy Framework Directive D1C4, D1C5 criteria

D’Amen M., Fortuna C. M., Holcer D., Panigada S., Bonora N. & Lauriano G.

2024.

Animal Conservation, 27 November 2024.

https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.13002

Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world’s oceans

Nisi A. C., Welch H., Brodie S., Leiphardt C., Rhodes R.,
Hazen E. L., Redfern J. V., Branch T. A., Barreto A. S., Calambokidis J., Clavelle T., Dares L., de Vos A., Gero S., Jackson J. A.,
Kenney R. D., Kroodsma D., Leaper R., McCauley D. J., Moore S. E., Ovsyanikova E., Panigada S., Robinson C. V., White T.,
Wilson J., Abrahms B.

2024.

Science, Vol 386, Issue 6724, pp. 870-875

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp1950

Stable isotope ratios indicate trophic niche overlap in three sympatric delphinid species in the Eastern Ionian Sea.

Borrell, A., Tort, B., Garcia-Garin, O., Genov, T., & Gonzalvo, J.

2024.

Marine Mammal Science, e13196

https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13196

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

VISIT WHALESANDDOLPHINS.TETHYS.ORG FOR UPDATES ON THE LATEST CITIZEN SCIENCE ACTIVITIES INVOLVING THE PUBLIC

Help us protecting our marine environment

FIELD WORK

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.

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HELP US PROTECT SPERM WHALE FAMILIES

With a donation you can contribute to study and safeguard mediterranean sperm whales and in particular social groups of females and calves. With the help of Siram Veolia, a benchmark company for ecological transformation, we are raising funds for additional surveys in winter, when these animals could be especially at risk of collision with cargo freighters.

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DONATE

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.

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5 x 1000

For those who declare taxes in Italy a simple way to contribute is to donate the 5×1000 from your tax return. Sign and indicate the tax code in the area of your your income tax return (730, CUD).

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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.

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Our partnerships