From 1 to 2 September the ship Mega Victoria of Corsica Sardinia Ferries hosted nine researchers involved in the project "Life Conceptu Maris" for wildlife conservation marina in the Mediterranean basin which is co-financed from the European Union and proposes an innovative approach multidisciplinary for the study of cetacean distribution and of sea turtles in the pelagic field, which combines Classic observation of animals from the bridge with new technologies such as environmental DNA, stable isotopes and use of sensors for monitoring chemical-physical parameters of sea water.

Scientists from ISPRA, CIMA Foundation, Stazione Zoologica AD of Naples, Bicocca University of Milan and University of Palermo departed from the port of Vado Ligure with destination Bastia, Ile Rousse and Nice, on three of the routes served by the shipping company. A team of five observers who monitored from the bridge flanked by four researchers who had access to the premises Technical. A laboratory has been equipped on board the ship research to collect water directly from the sea and to host filtering and storage machinery for samples.

The information that will be obtained from this innovative Multidisciplinary approach will be essential to build maps of environmental characteristics, which will help better define the distribution of cetaceans and turtles marinas in the Mediterranean.

At the end of the six trips made, it was announced that many fin whales have been spotted, 18 on the route Savona/Bastia and almost 30 on the Nice/Ile Rousse route, as well as large schools of dolphins and also the now very rare common dolphin. In addition, incredible for this sea, 11 Caretta caretta turtle sightings during the last crossing between Nice and Ile Rousse. There are also many sightings of other species, including manta rays and sunfish.

'Data collected on board Corsica Ferries ferries - underlined Paola Tepsich, researcher of Fondazione CIMA - are confirmed every year more and more important: there are helping to understand how species are coping with change resulting from the warming of the sea and allow us to extend the our analyses in otherwise inaccessible areas."