It is being carried out by an international team of scientists from Croatia and Italy in the high seas of the southern Adriatic.
The research began in the open sea of the southern Adriatic on October 5, and scientists are conducting it from the 14-meter catamaran Coolway, the Blue World Institute from Veli Lošinj reported on Friday.
During October, scientists from the Blue World Institute, the Croatian Museum of Natural History, the CIMA Foundation (Italy) and the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) will try to find Cuvier's beaked whales in the southern Adriatic and equip them with satellite transmitters and collect tissue samples by biopsy.
"Satellite monitoring is a powerful method that will allow us to obtain key information for the further protection of this species. These creatures know no borders, so international cooperation was needed to ensure the highest probability of research success," said ISPRA scientific research coordinator Caterina Fortune.
This will be the first time that a species of whale in the Adriatic will be monitored using satellite transmitters.
The research is carried out as part of a monitoring program within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EU MSFD) funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and coordinated by ISPRA.