Not everyone knows that off the Ligurian coast, at the height of Sanremo and Bordighera to be precise, there is an area rich in mammals such as dolphins, fin whales and sperm whales.

An environment that can boast the highest concentration of cetaceans among all the Italian seas and which in all probability represents the richest fauna area of ​​the entire Mediterranean .

The area, established in 1999 thanks to an agreement between Italy, France and the Principality of Monaco, is known as the Pelagos Sanctuary and is a protected area of ​​87,500 square kilometers.

We interviewed Sabina Airoldi , project manager of Cetacean Sanctuary Research, a research conducted byTethys Research Institute of Milan.

Sabina, let’s start with basic information. What is the Tethys Institute?

The Tethys Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the marine environment through scientific research and public awareness. Founded in 1986, it is based at the Civic Aquarium of Milan .

In over three decades of activity, Tethys has produced one of the largest datasets on Mediterranean cetaceans ( available online , ed .), Communicating the results of its research through hundreds of scientific publications.

And the institute was among the first to propose the creation of the Pelagos Sanctuary, right?

Exactly. In 1991 Tethys was the first organization to conceive and propose the creation of an emblematic protected area, precisely the Pelagos Sanctuary, for the conservation of marine mammals in the Mediterranean , the first in the world to be established beyond national jurisdictions.

As part of a citizen science program that today is among the longest in the world, Tethys has involved thousands of people of all nationalities as non-specialist collaborators in activities at sea since 1987.

You organize cruises that are open to all, giving the opportunity to observe the cetaceans up close and assist in the collection of data. What are the main risks related to marine fauna that you have measured over time?

First of all , we take care of measuring the changes and possible numerical decreases of mammals, due to anthropogenic activities. The first problem we encountered is certainly that of noise pollution .

There is a lot of noise underwater , especially near coasts, in ports and due to maritime transport. The noise generated by these media interferes with the communication channels of mammals , which propagate sound waves using very low frequencies, inaudible for us humans.

The noise pollution that is generated due to the traffic of goods pushes animals to raise the frequencies in order to be heard, therefore their natural way of communicating is altered.

With what effects?

Cetaceans are social animals, so they communicate with each other with highly developed languages. Indeed, the different species use different languages, sometimes with variations of the same language as if they were real dialects.

So there is a whole set of languages ​​that is in danger of being lost . And then in the midst of the noise there is the risk of “not understanding each other”, so these animals not only risk not meeting but also not mating .

But it is a protected area …

Yes, but boats can pass. Few people know that the Ligurian Sea is home to hundreds of specimens of fin whale , which is the largest mammal in existence after the blue whale and which reaches 24 meters in length and weighs 60 tons.

The boats not only generate an acoustic problem but give rise to numerous collisions with these animals .

And I can imagine that these specimens die in the clashes …

Some die affected by the propellers of larger boats and at high speeds, others continue to live with gashes and scars. Nets abandoned by fishermen are also a major problem in an area dense with specimens.

Recently, together with Greenpeace, we sent a letter to the Minister of Agricultural Policies asking for a ban on the driftnets that are causing so many victims among marine animals. Unfortunately, nets and the passage of boats are not the only threats facing marine mammals.

There are also chemical pollution and water heating that cause food shortages and therefore are dangerously modifying the oceanographic dynamics.