Conference on cetaceans to be held in Italy, La Spezia

This year’s annual conference of the European Cetacean Society (ECS) will be held in La Spezia, Italy, April 6th to 10th, sponsored by Eulabor Institute, with Tethys as a scientific partner. The theme of the conference is “Marine conservation – forging effective strategic partnerships”.

La Spezia was chosen as an iconic place for the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals, and as an example of a Blue Economy model in which nature conservation and human progress can coexist.

Several workshops will take place April 6th and 7th: a student workshop, “Welfare in the Wild”, “Marine Renewable Energy”, “Joint ACCOBAMS/ASCOBANS/IWC workshop on marine debris and cetacean stranding”, “Communicating marine mammal science to the general public”, “Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) across the Mediterranean Sea”, “What is new in cetacean pathology”, “Mediterranean Grampus Project 2.0”, “Wikimedia edit-a-thon”. IMMA and Risso’s dolphins’ workshops are organized by Tethys’ scientists.

The introduction of the conference will be given by Tethys’ former President Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, on “Marine Mammal Science and Conservation in the Mediterranean: The Line is Traced, Let’s Walk It”. Keynote speakers will be Maria Cristina Fossi (“Multiple Anthropogenic Stress in Cetaceans of the Pelagos Sanctuary: Current Knowledge and Future Research”), Spyros Kotomatas from WWF Greece (“Co-Management: A Strategic Approach in the Conservation of Marine Mammals or an Act of Desperation?”), Doug Nowacek from Duke University (“Important Components for Achieving Marine Conservation Successes – Why Does the Lorax Strategy Rarely Succeed?”).

The venues for the Conference are the Teatro Civico of la Spezia and the Arsenale.