PRESS STATEMENT: Scientists, civil society and Greek government to deploy smart technology to prevent ship strikes on sperm whales in the Kythera strait
The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency of Greece, together with the international marine conservation organisation OceanCare and the Athens-based environmental think tank The Green Tank announced today, as part of the Our Ocean Conference 2024, their commitment to ensure the implementation of the “SAvE Whales” system in the Strait of Kythira. This innovative technology is designed as a complementary tool to protect the endangered sperm whales from collision with ships in areas where re-routing of vessel traffic is not possible.
Statement by Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Cooperations at OceanCare, at the Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Greece on Wednesday, 17 April 2024:
"OceanCare and our partner organisation The Green Tank are honoured to announce our Commitment which is also carried by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency of Greece to provide in total 3.080.000 US$ to implement the SAvE Whales system in the Strait of Kythira, in Greece.
"The Hellenic Trench is home to the endangered Eastern Mediterranean sperm whale population of which just around 200 animals remain. The main threat these animals currently face is being hit by a ship.
"And while the most effective way to prevent such collisions is to re-route vessels away from their core habitat, there are regions – as the Strait of Kythira – where vessel traffic is to remain as it connects the Aegean and the Ionian Seas.
"As a partnership we pledge to work together for the adjustment and implementation of an acoustic observatory to localize sperm whales in real-time and alert mariners about their presence. The collaboration will scale up the SavE Whales system originally developed and tested successfully by Greek researchers of the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute and the Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (FORTH). The project will be launched this year and we expect a fully operational system to be implemented by the end of 2028.
"This commitment will play a vital part in the mix of required measures to prevent sperm whales in the Eastern Mediterranean to become extinct."
Read the full joint press release by OceanCare and The Green Tank here.
About OceanCare
OceanCare is an international marine conservation non-governmental organisation, founded in Switzerland in 1989. The organisation pursues the protection and restoration of the marine environment and marine wildlife with a strong policy focus, combining research, conservation projects and education. OceanCare’s remit includes marine pollution, climate change, marine mammal hunting and the environmental consequences of fisheries. Its work is supported by a team of scientific, legal and policy experts, and involves strategic collaboration with civil society organisations and coalitions around the world. OceanCare is an officially accredited partner and observer to several UN conventions and other international fora. www.oceancare.org --
OceanCare Dániel Fehér, Strategic Communications Lead Gerbestrasse 6, P.O.Box 372 CH-8820 Waedenswil - Switzerland +49 176 81434026 dfeher@oceancare.org www.oceancare.org