In Italy different Institutions (both of public and private sector), Universities and NGO have joined forces to undertake a large scale cetacean monitoring programme from passengers ferries.

The network, active since 2007, in summer weekly monitors presence, relative abundance, distribution and migration/dispersion timing of cetacean along the following routes:

Civitavecchia-Golfo Aranci (since 2007) in the Central Tyrrhenian sea (along this route from 1989 to 1991 weekly observations on cetacean were undertaken by the same observers);

Livorno-Bastia and Savona-Bastia (since 2008) in the Pelagos sanctuary;

Calvi-Nizza (from 2009) in the western part of the Pelagos sanctuary.

Preliminary data show that in summer most of the sightings of “whales” occur in coincidence with local high primary production zones such as the ones east of Golfo Aranci and along the Calvi-Nizza route.

Accademia del Leviatano, Università di Genova, Università di Pisa , CRAB coop, Fondazione CIMA, networked by ISPRA, are the different bodies that participate to the research

On the research the network has already submitted two different MS for the 2008 and 2009 European Cetacean Society conference proceedings.

Summer weekly sightings can be checked from the blog:

http://lericerchedelleviatano.blogspot.com/