Flipper made safer in the Mediterranean

Posted on February, 15 2001

The bottle-nosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatos), otherwise known as "Flipper", was commonly found in the Mediterranean during the first half of the 20th century. Since the 1940s the population has been in decline. Finally, after 10 years of pressure from conservation organizations such as WWF, the governments of France, Italy and Monaco agreed to create a whale sanctuary in the Ligurian Sea.

Paris, France: The Mediterranean cetaceans have to cope with intense human pressure and the constant presence of 2,000 ships, of which between 250 and 300 are oil tankers, putting the Mediterranean sea at constant risk from oil spills. From 35 per cent of all petrol which transits through this zone, 880,000 tons of oil is leaked into its waters each year. Coastal rubbish tips and industrial sites add to the pollution with detergents, medicines and heavy metals. This build up of toxins could be the cause of the weakening immune and reproductive systems of the Mediterranean's cetacean populations.

Fishing nets pose yet another considerable hazard to whales, dolphins and marine turtles with many of the fin whale deaths being attributed to collisions with boats, mainly during the summer months. A massive 180 million tourists visit the 20 Mediterranean countries each year, making it the top tourist destination worldwide, and bringing with it inevitable risks to the health of wildlife populations.

In 1999 France, Italy and Monaco signed an agreement to create a sanctuary in the Ligurian Sea to act as a safe haven for whales and dolphins. The 84,000km2 sanctuary stretches up to Italy's Gulf of Genova in the north, down to Corsica and Sardinia in the south and out west along the the côte d'Azur towards the Balearics. The 24 million tourists visiting this area each year share their holiday destination with 18 cetacean species, of which only seven occur commonly in these waters. It is in this part of the Mediterranean basin that whales and dolphins are most often observed, mainly during the summer months.

The legal creation of this whale sanctuary was the culmination of pressure on the governments to sign the treaty from the conservation organization WWF and the European Union since 1991. WWF, through its "Cap Ligures" programme is committed to improving scientific knowledge of the Mediterranean cetaceans, to reduce whale and dolphin mortality and to initiating public awareness campaigns. In order to develop the Cap Ligures programme, WWF counts heavily on collaboration from both governments and private enterprise. During the summer of 1999 a group of dolphin-spotters set sail aboard three WWF sailing boats with the sole purpose of looking for bottle-nosed dolphins.

Two scientific teams from research centres criss-crossed the Ligurian sea and the Golfe du Lion for a month, and when they were done a total of 350 bottle-nosed dolphins had been counted, 5,500km sailed, 600 hours of observations made and 2,600 photographs taken for identification purposes. This dolphin count is part of the initial phase of the project Cap Ligures, and will contribute to the setting up of a management and conservation programme in the Sanctuary to which the three signatory states are committed.

Inevitably the new research has thrown up more questions than answers; for example, the bottle-nosed dolphin never seems to venture further than 200m from the coast. So how did the individual known as "Ag 34" go from north west Corsica to the south of France, 228km away, in under two months? This observation proved, for the first time, that the bottle-nosed dolphin is capable of long journeys far from the coast.

Globe-trotting Ag 34 was again sighted and photographed during last summer's study; this time in north eastern Corsica. So what is his preferred route? Does he cross the high seas in a straight line, or does he island hop from Capri to Elba and then cruise along the Italian coast?

In the coming months the research programme will continue with some animals being fitted with radio transmitters. The 2001 study will be centred on the pilot whales, sperm whales, fin whales and spotted dolphins, the identification of their migration routes and winter feeding grounds.

"After ten years of effort, the sanctuary in the Ligurian sea is finally a reality. It is now the moment to show in this vast area the benefits of an intelligent and durable management programme, so that the blow of a fin whale and a dolphin's game in the wake of a boat continue to enchant us for a long time to come in the Mediterranean", said a WWF Mediterranean Programme Officer.

(800 words)

*Sally Zalewski is an environmental journalist based in Paris, France.