News

Conservation works at its best when different parties – be they countries, NGOs or individuals – work together towards a joint goal. In 2018, DMAD and Project Manaia formed ‘Operation 3 Seas’, a research effort which would explore areas of the Eastern Mediterranean where little is known about resident cetaceans. Over the last few weeks, Operation 3 Seas, a collaboration between DMAD and Project Manaia, has been sailing southwards through the Adriatic from Lignano, Italy to Bar, Montenegro. Leaving Bar last Friday, they began ‘Study B’ of the research effort, which passes through Montenegrin, Albania and Greek waters eventually ending in Plakias. The first few weeks focused on networking with fellow NGOs, universities, dive schools and other institutions in order to establish the need for a data sharing platform to aid research and conservation in the Adriatic. Within Montenegrin and Albanian waters the team aims to document five key cetacean (dolphins and whales) species which will aid the conservation efforts of Montenegro Dolphin Research and Albania Dolphin Research (a collaborative project between DMAD and the Agricultural University of Tirana). The team has already collected some fantastic data (including citizen science data) on invasive species, cetaceans, sea grass and other species, and has achieved some great steps in terms of networking with other universities and organisations! They hope to continue this on the journey southwards to enhance conservation in the Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean. For updates please follow their journey on Instagram at @Operation3Seas 

DMAD would like to thank Ege Marin for their ongoing support of our Giant Guardians of the Deep Seas Project. Studying the critical habitats of Sperm Whales and Cuvier’s Beaked Whales in the Levantine Sea, our Giant Guardians of the Deep Seas Project seeks to establish population statuses, main threats and conservation measures of these key species. By incorporating both scientific research and conservation DMAD hopes to implement a Marine Protected Area in the Levantine Sea, which will play a vital role in protecting marine megafauna – our Giant Guardians of the Deep Seas! This vital work would not be possible without the collaboartion and support of local partners, and DMAD is incredibly grateful to Ege Marin for their contribution to our work! For more information about this project, please follow DMAD’s instagram page and read more here. 

The creation on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is crucial to the long-term conservation of vulnerable species. On 23rd of April 2019 MDR representatives had the opportunity to attend a workshop in Petrovac hosted by NGOs Green Home, MedCEM and Montenegrin Society of Ecologists. Researcher Natasa Nikpaljevic writes… On Wednesday, 23rd of April 2019, we had the opportunity to attend a workshop in Petrovac, organized by NGOs Green Home, MedCEM and Montenegrin Society of Ecologists, who we want to thank for the invitation. The workshop was devoted to a very important topic, which is the importance of local communities in the management of MPAs. The presence of fishermen and divers both from Montenegro and from Croatia had a big importance because they are people who play a key role in the protection of the sea. In addition, the experiences of researchers from Croatia and Turkey who already have and manage MPAs give us hope that something similar can one day exist in Montenegro as well. Considering that this workshop has attracted a great number of stakeholders, I think we have made a step forward, and our team of researchers is more than happy to give their contribution in all this.” “U utorak, 23. aprila 2019, imali smo priliku da prisustvujemo radionici u Petrovcu koju su organizovale nevladine organizacije Green Home, Med CEM i Crnogorsko Drustvo Ekologa, kojima i ovom prilikom zelimo da se zahvalimo na pozivu. Radionica je bila posvecena jako vaznoj temi a to je znacaj lokalnih zajednica u upravljanju zasticenim podrucjima mora. Prisustvo ribara i ronilaca kako iz Crne Gore tako i iz Hrvatske, bilo je od velikog znacaja jer su to ljudi koji igraju veoma vaznu ulogu u zastiti mora. Osim toga, iskustva istrazivaca iz Hrvatske i Turske koji vec imaju zasticena podrucja i koji njima upravljaju daje nam nadu da tako nesto moze postojati i u Crnoj Gori. S obzirom na to da je ova radionica privukla veliki broj interesenata, mislim da smo samim tim i napravili korak naprijed, a nas tim istrazivaca je i vise nego srecan da dâ svoj doprinos u svemu tome.”

The Giant Guardians of Deep Seas 2019 Spring Expedition is in full swing! This is the fourth day of our expedition across the big blue of the east, the neglected child of the Mediterranean! We set sail this morning with the first light of the day from Marmaris with a nice breeze following us on our wat. Eventually, we had led the sails and nagged the engine off and there we were in the international waters just before the sunset. Unfortunately, however far we go, we still come across the footprints and impacts of the man-made world. Although the sea looked calm on the surface, there was the unbearable noise of the sonar underneath. It was impossible for us to track down the whales with our passive acoustic monitoring equipment or have a chance of a sighting at the surface with the constant drone of sonar in the background.  Just as we were losing hope, something unexpected happened and we were able to hear sperm whales – the giant guardians of deep seas! There they were. We tracked them for almost three hours until we dived into a storm and had to leave the site without any visual contact and carried eastwards. Since then, the sea has been silent with some occasional dolphin sightings and fellow shearwaters hoping to get some fish from us.  Today, we will reach an area in which fin whales were recently seen. Fingers crossed maybe we will be lucky enough to get a sighting this time!Read more about our Giant Guardians of the Deep Seas Project here!

Hi, I’m Georgie! I’m 22 and I graduated with a degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Nottingham in 2017. Since I was young, I have always loved being outside and this quickly translated into pursuing a career in protected species management and conservation. DMAD provides me with the perfect opportunity to gain the technical skills and field experience that are widely sought after in this industry, and constantly provides me with new challenges and exciting projects. Since coming to Montenegro I have fallen in love with the way of life and the work that we do. It is a pleasure to work alongside the other volunteers and see the difference that our work makes every single day.

Hi, my name is Enorha, I’m 22 years old and come from France. I’ve always had a passion for the animals, the study of their behavior and that’s why I wanted to pursue a career in the wildlife conservation.   I graduated my bachelor degree in ecology in France and a master degree in wildlife management in Canada. My interest for marine mammals came during my journey in Quebec when I study the habitat of the beluga in the Saint-Lawrence river.  DMAD gave me this great opportunity to gain more experience in cetaceans ecology, how to use practical devices, softwares such as ArcGIS, which is really usefull in ecology and also how to work in the field. I know that all the skills I gain will allow me to realize what I want to do in conservation and I’m looking forward to spending the next 2 months here!

DMAD is proud to announce that we will be running training courses for Highly Qualified Marine Mammal Observers (MMO) and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Operators (PAM)  in accordance with ACCOBAMS!  Marine Mammals Research Association (DMAD) under the agreement signed with ACCOBAMS (Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area) will be running a brand new training course to qualify individuals as Marine Mammal Observers and operators of Passive Acoustic Monitoring systems.  To reserve your spot and take your place amongst the best PAM and MMO operators in 24 countries please send your CV and request for information to [email protected]

”DMAD helps me to develop my skills, knowledge and provides me with field experience” My name is Alyssa, I am 19 years old and come from the Netherlands. At the moment I am in my second year of my Bachelor of Animal Management at the Leeuwarden University of Applied Sciences. I have had a fondness for animals for as long as I can remember. Throughout the years I developed a special interest for marine mammals. A part of my education is a 5 months internship where I put my knowledge into practice, to improve myself and to get more experience in the field of research. DMAD gave me the great opportunity to come to an amazing country and learn more about the biology of cetaceans, applied methodology and how to do boat- and land surveys. DMAD helps me to develop my skills, knowledge and provides me with field experience. What I love about being here is that I get to know a lot of new people, seeing a lot of beautiful places and that I am able to have an insight into how a non-profit organisation operates.

On the evening of  Sunday, 17th February, Montenegro Dolphin Research were informed through our stranding network (SANCET) of a bottlenose dolphin stranded on the shores of Sveti Nikola Island of Budva, Montenegro.  The following morning a team from the project, led by British Dviers Marine Life Rescue- trained Lucy Abiss, travelled to Sveti Stefan with the aim of locating the dolphin and assessing the likely causes of its stranding. Despite the individual – identified as a juvenile, demonstrating early signs of decomposition, the team delineated that the dolphin had not undergone any physical injuries causing its death and that the markings seen were simply signs of decomposition. Although it is not clear what may have caused the death or stranding of the individual without further analysis through autopsy, it is possible that the time of the stranding coinciding with the current seismic activity in Montenegro, could be related. Alternatively, there is the possibility of the death being related to zoonotic viruses, previous storm related activities or other natural causes.  Read more about the incident here. In the event of discovering a stranded cetacean in Montenegro or Albania please contact the Montengro Dolphin Project. Details can be found here.