We are in the north Western Mediterranean, more specifically in the
Pelagos Sancturies for the protection of marine mammals,
which is a large area that aims to provide the best protection for cetaceans.
We are placing tracking devices on whales to monitor their movements.
This information is vital to help us find ways of preventing them from being killed
and injured by ship strikes.
The idea is to get as close to the whales as possible and carefully place a tracking device
It will attach by suction with the end of this pole.
You see the poll is 6 meters long.
We need to come within 3 meters to do this very gently.
Those onboard the catamaran are also very important because they're much higher up.
They can see much better than those of us who are closer to the water.
Especially if there are waves, we see much less.
So it's important. They're the ones who guide us with radio tracking by
telling us where the animals are between each probe
so we can get close to them.
Radio: 400 metres catamaran
Okay received. Thank you.
“Based on the observation. Do we know what kind of animal it is yet?” It’s a fin whale
All the information we gather is
useful for the scientific community
as a whole
we work on large species that we carry out biopsies on such
as fin whales, sperm whales
and sometimes pilot whales,
something we've been doing
for a long time as genetic analysis of the populations, by taking
skin and fat samples
This allows us to first identify the sex it's important to know
this to see if there are any links with contaminants
and we can't tell the sex by sight
as there's no visible difference between
male and female fin whales. This also allows us to start mapping the population to see if
there are any family ties between all these animals.
“So what does the first operation involve here?” The first task involves removing the sample
from the biopsy dart, then we separate the fat from the skin to be
used for different tests.
The fat is placed in a sterilized glass tube to test for microplastics.
While the skin will be used for the genetic tests.
They are really magnificent creatures, when you’ve got close to them
once it's quite difficult to give that up. They are beautiful encounters
and they’re exceptional animals
when you see a sperm whale that's 20 meters long right next to you, and you to tell yourself
they're capable of reaching depths of over 1,000 meters navigating this vastness of
communicating we have experiences with whales that are unsettling, births, gatherings,
and social behaviors that are highly evolved
and really touching. It is a genuine closeness. Sperm whales are very emotional.
So we are particularly fond of them. They are special moments and beautiful creatures,
they really are!