Wanted: your dolphin pictures and videos
Sailors planning to visit the Ionian Sea in Greece have been asked to help with dolphin research.
The Ionian Dolphin Project (IDP) is a non-profit organisation that has been setup to collect information to help protect the species of dolphin found in the area.
Dolphins are often seen swimming near boats and Joan Gonzalvo, project manager at the IDP, is calling for all visitors to the area to assist with collecting data on the dolphins.
Mr Gonzalvo said: ‘This is an unprecedented initiative in this area to encourage sailors to collaborate in a dolphin conservation project, while giving them valuable information on how to minimise the potential disturbance they may cause to the animals when approaching them.’
The data collected will also help the project estimate the dolphin population and variety of species.
A guide has been created for sailors visiting the area with people asked to report sightings of dolphins on the IDP’s website.
Photos or videos of dolphins have been described by Mr Gonzalvo as ‘highly useful’ and will ‘allow us to confirm the identification of species’.
For those who are planning a trip to the Ionian, the IDP has also released a code of conduct to help boaters avoid unnecessary disturbance of the animals.
This code and further information can be found on the IDP website: www.ioniandolphinproject.org
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