Volunteer Experience at the Dolphin & Whale Research Project in Italy
"I spent 1 week on the project conducting cetacean research which included the investigation on the abundance and distribution of cetaceans within the Sanctuary. This included the tremendous Fin Whale (the second largest whale in the world!), Striped dolphins, Sperm Whales, Risso’s Dolphins and many other marine animals.
Meeting the team was great, everyone was so welcoming and had a lively and pleasant attitude. The boat was a lot larger than I had imagined, with wooden décor and the glimmer of paintings of great big blue beasts on the walls.
As soon as we got out the harbour, all eyes were on watch for cetaceans, jellyfish, certain types of seabirds and any other interesting fish we could find. At first we saw three Striped Dolphins not far from the shore. They showed off their cream and yellow coloured bellies three times before disappearing. Once we reached 15 km from shore the waves started to reach above 2m high. This can be quite dangerous out at sea and so our professional skipper decided it was best to turn back. Nevertheless, it was still a great day however short lived. I spent the evening exploring the town of Sanremo which was very impressive with the intricate, detailed buildings and dazzling streets.
Victoria Golding, a Marine Science student from the UK, wrote about her week at the project in July 2017