Sighted about ten specimens of cetaceans in the protected marine area of Tavolara. last May 13, the biologists of the AMP, partner of the LIFE Delphi project, which makes use of the Sea Me Sardinia Association, made five sightings of bottlenose dolphins, with at least onefifteen dolphins in total and collected important data on ecology and animal behavior.
In recent years, the Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area has been achieving important results for the conservation of bottlenose dolphins, coastal dolphins that live in shallow waters up to 200-250 m deep, also widespread in Sardinia and who also regularly attend the Amp. The researchers are updating the database on this protected species included, among others, in Annex II of the Habitats Directive and object of study of the LIFE Delphi project to better understand the interactions it has with fishing activities .
However, the day was also enriched by an exceptional series of sightings including a large school of striped dolphins and several sightings of fin whale, the only baleen whale considered regular in the Mediterranean and considered endangered Endangered, on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.
At least 11 fin whale specimens have been sighted in different groups, some feeding and others moving north, just outside the Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area, testifying to the importance of the waters off Sardinia also for large cetaceans. This is in fact the period in which this species moves from the southern regions of the Mediterranean Sea towards the Ligurian Sea or even other feeding areas such as for example the well-known Canyon of Caprera, off the Bocche di Bonifacio, going up the Tyrrhenian Sea and skirting the Sardinia.
A significant effort is put into ensuring the continuation of monitoring by personnel of the Marine Protected Area and SEA ME Sardinia to help collect information on the ecology and conservation status of cetaceans in this area , thereby facilitating advances in the study of the coastal bottlenose dolphin’s ecology and interaction with human activities, potential threats to this species.
credits: galluraoggi.it
