IT’S A PLEASURE TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS: THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LIFE CONCEPTU MARIS PROJECT
Employing ferries to safeguard the lives of cetaceans and sea turtles, this is the wonderful initiative of
Conceptu Maris
which is part of the European Community’s LIFE program. On-board technologies of the ferries of the participating Shipping Companies are used research activities in defense of the health of whales, cetaceans and sea turtles
Saving the Mediterranean giants with the help of ferries
Preserving sea creatures from stray nets and the plastic that is invading our seas is the goal of the Life Conceptu Maris project. The monitoring activity, which also relies on the help of several shipping companies that make their ferries available, is aimed at identifying the major transit areas of whales, other cetaceans and sea turtles.
Tracking the routes of whales, understanding where they concentrate most and where they breed is very important in defending these giants of the sea. Preserving these places from marine traffic and plastic pollution is most important for the preservation of marine biodiversity.
Maps of the most at-risk areas, clearing them of abandoned plastics and nets
Uncovering and recovering abandoned fishing nets is a titanic undertaking, which, thanks to the surveys of ferries that travel the length and breadth of the Mediterranean Sea, is a hugely important endeavor for the entire marine ecosystem. Ferries that travel the length and breadth of Italy’s seas will be a key ally in the fight against pollution.
Thanks to the ferries’ on-board equipment, it is also possible to record the passage of cetaceans as well as possible hazards such as the dreaded ghost nets. The scattered nets in the sea, which roam carried by currents, are one of the main dangers to cetaceans and sea turtles that often get trapped in them.
Plastic bags like jellyfish. Sea currents also carry a lot of plastic; the oceans and all the seas of the world, unfortunately, are flooded with it. Plastic bags are sometimes mistaken for jellyfish and are increasingly being ingested by sea turtles, which end up suffocating.
The shipping companies participating in the Life Conceptu Maris project.
More and more operators are employing their ferries to lend a hand to cetaceans and sea turtles by joining the Life Conceptu Maris project. The ferry crews of these Shipping Companies are trained to be able to participate in to the project through trainings on biodiversity conservation and cetacean collision risk. Here are the Shipping Companies involved:
- Grimaldi Lines
- Minoan Lines
- Corsica & Sardinia Ferries
- Tirrenia
- Balearia
- Great Fast Ships
Protecting the sea is everyone’s obligation
Unfortunately, the health of marine ecosystems is in grave danger. Poisonous fruits of pollution such as plastics are a very serious problem that affects all the planet’s seas. The negative consequences of fishing, as well as ghost nets, threaten sea creatures, and increased shipping traffic also creates the risk of boat collisions with cetaceans.
At present the list of Operators participating in the project is large, but even greater participation by all sea operators would be desirable no one excluded.
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