Document of dataset 4484

Dataset record

Type

Dataset

title in English

Cetacean sightings along the central Catalan coast made during surveys of the Associació Cetàcea

Description in English

Starting in March 2013, the aim of the Fin Whale Project is to improve the knowledge about the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Mediterranean Sea.
During the surveys geographical, environmental, biological, behavioral and population data of every sighting will be collected. With this data, an assessment can be made for the fin whale population of Western Mediterranean, as well as from other cetacean species.
The study area is located in the waters in front of the central Catalan coast, between the villages of Castellfdefels and Segur de Calafell. The study will focus on a zone located between 5 and 12 nautical miles offshore and between the 200 and 1000 meters isobaths.
This study area was chosen after finding out that there are several documented fin whale sightings in this zone during the last few years, that make think that the Catalan Sea could be a passing zone between wintering grounds (probably located in the southern part of the basin) and the summer feeding grounds, especially the Ligurian Sea.

The study is foccussed on the fin whale in the Mediterranean Sea, but we also see other cetaceans such as striped dolphin or bottlenose dolphin. One of the goals of our organization is to contribute to the conservation of the marine life. Purpose: The Mediterranean fin whale population is rather small and its distribution uncertain for the most part of the year. The main goal of the project is to collect geographical, environmental, biological, behavioral and population data of every sighting. We also want to take photographs of every whale detected. Supplemental information: The sightings have been made during the Fin Whale Project, a study approved by the Biodiversity and Protection of Animals division of the Departament of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, Food and the Environment of the Catalan Government. With this project we expect to improve our knowledge about the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Description in ca

Iniciat el març de 2013, el Projecte Rorqual pretén ampliar els coneixements sobre el rorqual comú (Balaenoptera physalus) al mar Mediterrani. Durant les sortides, es prenen dades geogràfiques, ambientals, biològiques, comportamentals i poblacionals de tots els albiraments de cetacis que es realitzin. Amb elles es vol dur a terme una avaluaciùo de la població de rorquals del Mediterrani occidental, així com d'altres espècies cetàcies. L'àrea d’estudi es localitza a la costa del davant de les comarques del Baix Llobregat, el Garraf i el Baix Penedès, en la zona situada entre les poblacions de Castelldefels i Segur de Calafell i a una distància d’entre 5 i 12 milles de la costa, arribant fins a la isòbata dels 1.000 metres de profunditat. Aquesta elecció no és atzarosa, respon a l’existència d’albiraments documentat de rorquals comuns durant els últims anys en la zona esmentada, la qual cosa fa pensar que les aigües del mar catalanobalear podrien ser una zona de pas entre les àrees d’hivernació (probablement situades en la part sud del Mediterrani) i les àrees d’alimentació estivals, principalment la situada al mar de Ligúria.

Abstract in English

Data on sightings of different cetacean species made by Associació Cetàcea during their seasonal surveys for the ongoing Fin Whale Project along the central Catalan coast, West Mediterranean, starting in spring 2013.

Abstract in ca

Dades d'albiraments de diferents espècies de cetacis realitzades per l'Associació Cetàcea durant les sortides realitzades en el marc del Projecte Rorqual a la regió central de la costa catalana, Mediterrani occidental, iniciades la primavera de 2013.

License

https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html

bibliographicCitation

Giralt, O., Ramallo, C. & Miller, V. 2013. Cetacean sightings along the Catalan coast made during surveys of the Associació Cetàcea. Associació Cetàcea.

Release date

Jan 6 2015 12:00AM