Six months after the signing of Memorandum of Understanding by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, NECCA, Ocean Care and The Green Tank for the effective development and full operation of SAvE Whales in the Kythira Strait, the SAvE Whales partners created the project’s first short documentary.
Moving outside the main habitat of the sperm whales in the Hellenic Trench is the main conservation measure to avoid collisions with passing vessels. But if re-routing is not possible? What happens then?
The Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute and FORTH, the SAvE Whales’ scientific partners, undertook their first field trials this summer starting work towards the implementation of the SAvE Whales system in the Kythira Strait, as part of the MoU. Data was collected (bathymetry, soundscape and ocean noise profile, oceanographic information etc.) that will help to properly design the upscaled SAvE Whales system that will be able to inform passing ships that sperm whales have been detected in the area. In addition, the scientists surveyed the area, recording sightings of whales. Understanding the sound profile of the area, being able to identify sperm whale clicks by single them out from other acoustic signals is one of the challenges when it comes to such a large area.
Watch their story and stay tuned for more SAvE Whales news.
A population of sperm whales was discovered in the Hellenic Trench by the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute in 1998. Vessel strikes were soon identified by them as the main threat for the survival of this endangered population. SAvE Whales, which stands for “System for the Avoidance of ship-strikes with Endangered Whales”, was first developed in a pilot project between 2019 and 2021 by Pelagos and FORTH, fully funded by OceanCare. It offers a pioneering technology, serving as a complementary response measure to the threat of vessel strikes. A Memorandum of Understanding, singed in June 2024, by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency, OceanCare and Τhe Green Tank provides for the scaling up and the full implementation of the system in the Kythira Strait by 2028.
