Tethys Research Institute

Specialised in cetacean research, Tethys has generated one of the largest datasets on Mediterranean cetaceans and over 300 scientific contributions. Tethys aims to protect the Mediterranean biodiversity by promoting the adoption of a precautionary approach for the management of natural resources. Aim is to prevent the decline of marine species and to encourage a sustainable use of the marine environment. Tethys first conceived and proposed the creation of the Pelagos Sanctuary (in 1991) and of the Losinj Dolphin Reserve in Croatia (in 1993). Studies include: cetaceans in the Corso-Ligurian-Provencal basin, in the Adriatic Sea, and in the Ionian Sea, the Messina Strait and in several other Mediterranean and Atlantic areas. Research methods track and record the horizontal movements of whales, population studies, bioaccoustic research, photo-identification and behavioural sampling, remote biopsy sampling for genetic and toxicological analyses, and historical research, resulting in enormous photographic archives of cetacean images, that have resulted in the identification of over 1,500 individuals of eight Mediterranean species.