The Northern Aegean Cetacean Research Project consists of three parts:
a) the study of the sperm whales of the deep basin between the Chalkidiki
peninsula and the Northern Sporades Islands b) the study of the unique
for the Mediterranean Sea Northern Aegean harbour porpoise population
and c) the study of the other cetacean species that inhabit the area.
Northern Aegean Sperm Whale Project
The
Northern Aegean Sperm Whale Project has the same aims as the Cretan Sperm Whale
Project, however, its main object is the study of sperm whales migrations along
the Aegean coasts. The objective of these studies is to acquire an understanding
of the use of food resources of the Greek Seas as related to the feeding and reproduction
needs of sperm whales, in order for a management plan for their conservation to
be proposed.
The sperm whale sightings that have been recorded by the Pelagos Institute
research team during the last seven years suggest an important presence
of the particular species in the marine area between Sporades and Chalkidiki,
which is characterised by great depths and underwater cliffs.
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Northern Aegean Harbour Porpoise Project
The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is a small and very "timid"
odontocete (average length 1.4 metres). Its most distinguishing feature
is the lack of a visible rostrum.
The Northern Aegean Harbour Porpoise Project started in 1998 with the
support of IFAW (International
Fund for Animal Welfare) due to the importance of the presence of this
species in the Greek Seas. A scientific paper was published by Pelagos
Institute members and their associates in the scientific journal "Marine
Mammal Science". Until recently, harbour porpoise was considered
to be an extinct species from the entire Mediterranean Sea. During the
last few years, there have only been 5 records of harbour porpoises in
the Mediterranean, 4 of which took place in the Northern Aegean Sea. The
project aims at estimating the size and the genetic isolation of the Greek
harbour porpoise population, in addition to studying the threats it is
facing, in order for effective conservation measures to be proposed and
enforced.
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