Once started on 23 March 2022, monitoring activities continue on board cargo ships and scheduled ferries along the section between Porto Empedocle and the Pelagie islands of Linosa and Lampedusa. In collaboration with the Italian Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), associated partner of the project, the presence of the following specimens was reported: fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), schools of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), and young specimens of Caretta caretta sea turtles. In addition, shoals of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) were spotted, and among the birdlife present there, numerous specimens of shearwaters (Yelkouan and Scopoli’s) and swallows migrating towards the north were observed.
This monitoring activity was carried out thanks to the support of the Siremar company, allowing the team of observers – Alessandra Raffa, Enrico Giarrusso, and Diego Fiorentino, fellows and research fellows of the Catania University, and the volunteer Noemi Di Cataldo of the Marecamp Association – to board the ship “Sansovino”, led by Commander Filippo Pecorilla.
