The CSR Project played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals. Since the 1990s, the data collected by the project, which monitors cetacean species within the Sanctuary, provided crucial scientific evidence to demonstrate the area’s importance.
CSR researchers also helped establish a partnership between the Pelagos Sanctuary and several coastal municipalities in Liguria, which committed to concrete conservation actions, public awareness initiatives, and engaging local authorities in education and outreach.
The results obtained by the CSR project were also instrumental in identifying two Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs): the “North West Mediterranean Sea, Slope and Canyon System” and the “Western Ligurian Sea and Genoa Canyon”. IMMAs are defined by the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force as “areas with the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation.”
In 2018, the CSR team organized a workshop at the 32nd annual European Cetacean Society conference, bringing together over 30 experts to enhance knowledge and conservation efforts for the Mediterranean population of Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus). The workshop aimed to strengthen partnerships and update research on this species, contributing to its long-term protection.
In March 2019, Tethys signed a Protocol of Understanding with the Italian Coast Guard to collaborate on research and in raising public awareness about marine conservation in the Mediterranean, with a focus on boaters.
CSR researchers are actively involved in the IUCN assessment of the conservation status of Mediterranean cetaceans (such as Risso’s dolphin, sperm whale and long finned pilot whales) and in the development of a dedicated Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) for cetacean species (Risso’s dolphin, sperm whale and Cuvier’s beaked whale), promoted by ACCOBAMS for the Mediterranean region.
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ElenaTri2025-05-14 10:00:082026-01-13 13:43:45Cetacei Fai Attenzione