SEA ME Sardinia and One Ocean Foundation are pleased with the publication in the scientific journal “PLOS One” of a ten-year study conducted in the central Tyrrhenian Sea, which identifies the Caprera Canyon as a biodiversity hotspot for cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea.
The research, based on over 200 marine research missions over 9 years, 216 expeditions, and over 30,000 km of navigation, reveals the importance of the Caprera Canyon, off the northeastern coast of Sardinia, as a crucial area for cetaceans.
"AND "It was a long process," says Luca Bittau , president and founder of Sea Me Sardinia, a naturalist with a PhD from the University of Sassari, an environmental educator, and an environmental hiking guide, "and now it's online and open-access, thanks to the desire to share and publish the data. And it was also the desire of One Ocean Foundation, which gave us the opportunity and the impetus to compile all this data in a scientific article. "In this highly productive area, over 1,000 meters deep," Bittau explains, "eight different species of cetaceans have been observed, including Cuvier's beaked whale, sperm whale, and fin whale. The Cuvier's beaked whale ( Ziphius cavirostris ), in particular, showed one of the highest encounter rates ever recorded in the Mediterranean."
The Caprera Canyon, continues the president of SEA ME Sardinia, «is not just a passage area: it is a nursery, feeding area and refuge for threatened species, many of which are included in the IUC Red List of Threatened Species.
The Canyon is a fragile area , however, Bittau warns and denounces: "Maritime traffic, noise pollution, fishing, and climate change represent concrete threats to the marine ecosystem . For this reason, the publication will help support the designation of the Caprera Canyon as an IMMA (Important Marine Mammal Area) and, by 2030, as a Marine Protected Area."
