Although Barcelona is a large and busy city, many cetaceans visit its waters and can be seen at amazingly short distance from the coast. Through a network of collaborators that usually sail around these waters, sightings of different cetaceans and other marine animals are gathered by the researchers to expand the information about such often misterious creatures. An example of an impressive finding is the discovery of a grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus)close to Barcelona, a species that only lives in the Pacific. The tail of this animal was photographed by a collaborator, and its markings could be compared to a picture taken in front of Israel 2 weeks before, confirming it was the same animal. This was the first and only report of a grey whale in the Mediterranean.
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Dofins Metropolitans
How can you contribute?
If you frequently sail the waters of Catalonia, you could greatly help sending information of any cetaceans you see during your trips. You can simply send some photographs of your sightings, the date and time, and the GPS position of the sighting.
If you want to contribute more, you can download the form from the Facebook page of "Dofins Metropolitans" (contact the lead scientist of the project for a copy in English or Spanish!), where you can also see a map with all the cetaceans sighted in the area since the project started.