In 2023, CIMA Research Foundation collaborated with ISPRA to assess four criteria of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which defines a common approach and objectives for the prevention and protection and conservation of the marine environment. Specifically, the EU Directive requires the monitoring of regular cetacean species in the waters of Member States, including the so-called “deep-diving” species, which move in deeper waters and require specific monitoring strategies. CIMA Research Foundation, which has extensive experience in the study and monitoring of one of these species, the Cuvier’s beaked whale, was therefore tasked with assessing its abundance, demographics, range, distribution patterns, and habitat, in accordance with the Directive.
The project and the CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution
At the request of ISPRA, CIMA Research Foundation was responsible for providing a historical series of past data on the presence and distribution of Cuvier’s beaked whales obtained through combined methodologies (photo-identification, satellite tagging, and photogrammetry). Additionally, it was tasked with collecting additional data throughout 2023 for the Ligurian Sea and the southern Adriatic. The data were then processed and archived to be made available to the Marine Strategy; furthermore, capture-recapture data, satellite tagging data, sighting distribution, and photogrammetry data were analyzed.
Throughout the project, several field campaigns were conducted with research vessels, during which cetacean data were collected using a distance sampling protocol, which involves collecting data useful for photo-identification studies using a camera and using drones to capture images for photogrammetry. Additionally, individuals or groups sighted were approached by dinghy for further data collection (e.g., biopsies or installation of a satellite tag to monitor the animal), depending on the species.
The data were collected using the ILogWhale application, which allows continuous recording of the vessel’s route
, as well as the collection of meteorological data, sampling effort, and data related to individual sightings.
Results
- Estimates of absolute abundance of Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris G. Cuvier, 1823) in the Ligurian Sea / Northern Tyrrhenian Sea for the period 2004 – 2023
- Distribution in age / sex classes and length of free-ranging specimens of Cuvier’s beaked whale in the Mediterranean
- Creation of distribution maps based on sighting data representing the species distribution, organized according to grids 1 x 1 km, 5 x 5 km, 10 x 10 km (ETRS LAEA 5210 projection)
- Creation of distribution maps based on satellite tagging data representing the species distribution, organized according to grids 1 x 1 km, 5 x 5 km, 10 x 10 km (ETRS LAEA 5210 projection)
- Distribution of Cuvier’s beaked whale in the Ligurian Sea / Northern Tyrrhenian Sea
