KAI Marine Services will undertake 4 marine research campaigns in the Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 2012. KAI offers an Internship Program for Applied Research to grant students the opportunity of conducting field work related to the scientific objectives of these campaigns (observation and tracking of cetaceans and marine turtles, measurement of underwater noise, and improvement of fishing techniques to reduce sea turtle by-catch). The research campaigns will depart from Mahón (Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain) and will be conducted on the following dates:
•    Toftevaag I: July 14th- 21st 2012
•    Toftevaag II: July 22nd- 29th 2012
•    Toftevaag III: August 4th - 11th 2012
•    Toftevaag IV: August 12th - 19th 2012
The research work conducted on board the Toftevaag since 1990 has constituted a very significant contribution to national, regional and international marine biodiversity strategies and more specifically the conservation of cetaceans. The campaigns to be conducted in 2012 are part of the EC LIFE+ NATURE Project INDEMARES. The system of volunteering and cost sharing which requires a contribution of 1800 Euros per participant constitutes the matching fund to make shipboard surveys possible. The Toftevaag has used this method since 1992, allowing for the training of many students and the participation of over 2200 volunteers from 63 nations.
Selected publications resulting from these campaigns:

Gregory K. Silber, Angelia S.M. Vanderlaan, AnaT. Arceredillo, Lindy Johnson, Christopher T. Taggart, Moira W. Brown, Shannon Bettridge, Ricardo Sagarminaga. In press. The role of the maritime organization in reducing vessel threat to whales: Process, options, actions and effectiveness: Journal of Marine Policy.

Eckert, S.A., Moore, J.E., Dunn, D.C., Sagarminaga, R., Eckert, K.L. and Halpin, P.N. 2007. A hierarchical state-space model of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) movement behavior in relation to oceanography in the Alboran Sea.

Cañadas, A., R. Sagarminaga, R. de Stephanis, E. Urquiola and P.S. Hammond. 2005. Habitat selection models as a conservation tool: proposal of marine protected areas for cetaceans in Southern Spain. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 15:495-521.

For more information contact Valeria Vergara + 604 220 7593, valeria@kaimarineservices.com (North America) or Ricardo Sagarminaga and Ana Tejedor Arceredillo +34 619108797, ric@kaimarineservices.com (Spain)