Launch of the ASI Air Campaign Workshop

From 23 to 28 May, the ACCOBAMS Survey Initiative Air Campaign Launch Workshop will be held in Cuers, in the Var, the first large-scale census of whales, dolphins and other marine megafauna species in the world. Mediterranean Sea.

All countries party to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent Atlantic area, also known as “ACCOBAMS” and for which France currently holds the Presidency, participate in this effort unprecedented on this scale. In this context, scientists will conduct aerial overflights in June and July 2018 to observe and survey cetacean populations in the Mediterranean. Where possible, scientists will also collect data on other protected species such as sea turtles and seabirds. These observations should be conducted simultaneously in all Mediterranean regions, so that five research vessels, eight aircraft and not less than a hundred observers will be mobilized this summer for the conservation of these migratory species.

The Cuers workshop, housed in the premises of the airline Action Air Environment, will bring together about fifty Mediterranean scientists who will be trained in the methodology of aerial census and the scientific protocol of data collection. They will train to make aerial observations off the Var coast in the Pelagos Sanctuary for the protection of marine mammals in the Mediterranean.

The complete file here in French

To stay informed and follow the realization of the Mediterranean campaign of the ASI but also to learn more about the whales, dolphins and other cetaceans, follow ACCOBAMS on Facebook (ACCOBAMS – Dolphin and Whale Conservation) and Twitter (@ACCOBAMS)