16/07/2018 – Start of the Project Friends of the Sea
In Associació Cetàcea we are pleased to present the project Friends of the Sea. This is a pioneering citizen science project in Catalunya, which aims to gather information related to opportunistic sightings of cetaceans recorded from professional or leisure vessels along the Catalan coast.
Since we started the Photo-Identification Project back in 2014, we have recorded sightings of up to 6 different species of cetaceans off the central Catalan coast. We know however, that these and other species are present along the Catalan coast and that many sightings remain unrecorded. The project Friends of the Sea gives the opportunity to all the sea users that wish to do so, to share the information on their sightings. Among other things, the information will be used to create a cetacean sighting map of the Catalan coast.
Additionally, the project also includes information about how to act when navigating close to cetaceans, as stated in the Royal Decree 1727/2007 as well as additional information on the different species of cetaceans that can be seen in the area. The users that wish to do so, will be able to send us the information about their sightings through a web form, which will be included in a common data base.
