Pelagos Sanctuary

What it is

The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals was created by an agreement between Italy, France and the Principality of Monaco, signed in Rome on 25 November 1999 and in force since 21 February 2002. Italy ratified it with Law no. 391 of 11 October 2001. It is the only international protected area in the Mediterranean dedicated to marine mammals and is on the list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) under the Barcelona Convention.

It covers about 87,500 km² and 2,022 km of coastline, in the Corsican-Ligurian-Provençal basin: from Punta Escampobariou, near Toulon, to Capo Falcone and Capo Ferro in Sardinia and to the border between Tuscany and Lazio. It includes coastal and open waters, with deep seabeds and upwelling currents that sustain fin whales, sperm whales, dolphins and thousands of other species. Official information is on the website of the Pelagos Sanctuary.

What it protects and how

Pelagos has no zones with prohibitions like a park or a marine protected area. The States undertake to protect marine mammals and their habitat: reducing disturbance and the risk of ship collisions, regulating tourist whale-watching, limiting the impacts of fishing, and promoting research and education. Coastal municipalities can join the Sanctuary's Partnership Charter.

Pelagos and MED-BIOWATCH

The project contributes to Pelagos with reports of cetaceans and turtles under protocol P6, collected with photo, position and time and passed to the monitoring networks. During outings, good practice for approaching cetaceans is applied, which also becomes educational content for participants and schools.

Why it matters for the project

At Giglio and Argentario, where there is no protection zone at sea, Pelagos is the reference framework: the project produces data on the coast that the Sanctuary does not monitor directly, and can help municipalities make more of their membership of the Partnership Charter. The 2026–2030 Strategy of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park mentions, among its actions, the possible identification of marine protection areas: MED-BIOWATCH data on Giglio and Argentario can contribute to that assessment.

Cetaceans in the Sanctuary

Regular species include the fin whale, sperm whale, Cuvier's beaked whale, long-finned pilot whale, Risso's dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, striped dolphin and common dolphin. Occasional reports of killer whale and humpback whale show how much the basin is visited. For the project, bottlenose dolphins matter most: they are regular near the coast and can be seen during outings.

Behaviour rules when you sight cetaceans

• Slow down and do not cut across the animals' path; approach from the side and never from behind.
• Keep your distance, limit the time of observation and do not enter the water with the animals.
• Only one boat at a time near the group; move away if the animals change behaviour.
• Record species, number, position and time, with a photo if possible, on the P6 sheet.

Detailed rules, such as distances and number of boats, are set by local regulations and ordinances: they must be checked and included in the training materials of each location.