Etna and Mediterranean sea, a fascinating combination with Lampedusa destination

Near the sea gets up Etna, "column of the sky" for the mythical Pindar, one of the last paradises of nature. Protagonists, the cobalt blue waters and a burnished earth lava for a 'unicum' almost indescribable. The volcano seen from the sea and sailing boats tell us the berths of a magnificent east coast of Sicily. The generosity of Mother Nature, here, supports many initiatives aimed primarily at tourism, cultural and environmental enhancement of terrestrial and marine assets. At the forefront, the campaign "Cetacean Research and Conservation in The Mediterranean Sea", now in its fifth edition this year.

For a meeting face to face with dolphins, in fact, you can navigate with who organize it, Ketos, cultural and scientific institution of Catania, who was born with the aim of studying the cetofauna present in these waters. In the outputs at sea, biologists put the excursionis in the reality of fisheries in the Gulf Etna, where it seems there is a certain complicity between mammals and fishermen. You can sail along their routes to observe and describe their world. Here, the marine scenery soul of stenelle striate, tursiopi, grampi,globicefali, zifi, and other species of dolphins. And there are many common whale, between 10 and 15 miles, in south-east of the Pelagie Islands, which the crew had sighted since last February 28 until today, when on board the 'Maria Vittoria' and under the watchful attention of the scientific responsible, Mario Tringali, the shipping started from Catania port. Destination Lampedusa, to monitor constantly the lives of these cetaceans.

After four days of navigation along the route Siracusa-Malta, for the staff of researchers have come the first results: the confirmation of the winter presence of this species of cetaceans in the Pelagie for trophic reasons. A check that has consolidated the data collected by over 5 years of scientific expeditions in the area between the western Ionian and the Channel of Sicily. Indeed, during the last few editions of this campaign, had been documented the presence of the common whale off the island of Lampedusa in the months of February, March and April, and instead in the waters of the Ionian and southern Tyrrhenian Sea during the summer months. All of it on the side of public and scientific corporations and thanks to the most modern methodologies. The distance sampling and the ad libitum sampling, are the methods of research this year and consists in approach with the animals and in diving for the purpose of filming and photographing individuals to identify, through the technique of fotoidentificazione and then analyze their behavior.

The project, born from the need to bridge the knowledge about the presence, distribution and conservation of cetaceans in the Sicilian seas, as the commitments made with the World Union for Conservation of Nature, aims to raise public opinion of environmental issues related Sea, with particular reference to the charming world of whales and dolphins. The 2009 edition is particularly important because it closes a series of research and prepares Sicily to the "Countdown 2010", that will bring together governments, Ong, private companies and common citizens to focus attention on the protection of biodiversity.
The fans can follow the activities and life on board, through a virtual diary, that it' s visiting on-line at www.ketos.sicily.it site that is constantly updated by members of the crew.

Mara Costantino