Whales of the Mediterranean Sea

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Documentary Film and Education Series.
Greece, Spain, Italy, France (2007-2008)

Whales of the Mediterranean Sea is a five-part original educational documentary film that ventures into deep seas and coastal waters with a range of international scientists.

It examines the ecology of cetaceans, while exploring the causes of increasing pressures on their populations and habitats. The greatest challenge of all is raising awareness, as most people do not even know there are whales in the Mediterranean Sea.

Chris and Genevieve Johnson worked with a number of scientists and NGOs throughout the Mediterranean region to devise ways to communicate conservation topics affecting cetaceans with solution based messages for students and the general public. Those interviewed include Giovanni Bearzi and Simone Panigada of the Tethys Research Institute (Italy), Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana Europe, Ana Cañadas of Alnitak (Spain), Alexandros Frantzis of Pelagos (Greece), Erich Hoyt of WDCS – The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (UK) and members of WWF Global Species Program.

The five films can be viewed online in English with subtitles in Italian, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, amd Greek. Teachers can download each program on the Whale Trackers iTUNES page to show in a classroom, and download a teacher’s guide and fact sheets about various marine conservation issues addressed in the films.

The five parts of the series are:

1. Mediterranean – The Sea in the Middle of the Earth (9 minutes) – Explores some of the natural history of the Mediterranean and introduces the viewer to the species in the Mediterranean. Watch the Video
2. Sperm Whales of Greece – Life in the Trenches – (18 minutes)
   “Life in the Trenches” documents a scientific expedition through Greece in search of the elusive and endangered Mediterranean Sperm Whale. We join Dr. Alexandros Frantzis of the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute, onboard the R/V Nereis on a journey into the deepest trenches of the Mediterranean. In the Ionian Sea, we discover a socializing sperm whale family, and study their behavior as they welcome a newborn calf into the group. However, the future for this calf, and its family is uncertain. As their habitat deteriorates due to human pressures, what does the future hold for the most social of the great whales?
   Watch the Video
3. Fishy Business – The Illegal Drifnet Fishery – (14 minutes)
   
   Despite a worldwide ban by the United Nations in 1992 and by the European Union in 2002, the illegal driftnet fishery continues throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Driftnets are banned because they take large quantities of unwanted catch, called bycatch, putting populations of migratory fish, sea turtles and cetaceans at risk. We interview Xavier Pastor of Oceana, a global marine conservation organization. He leads a team of scientists, photographers, and videographers who are systematically documenting the use of illegal driftnets throughout the Mediterranean. With over 500 driftnet vessels operating illegally in the region, researchers and conservation groups are concerned that marine species are being pushed to the edge. In this episode, we investigate the fishery and examine why it still occurs today. Watch the Video
4. Disappearing Dolphins – (17 minutes)
   
   Common dolphins were once abundant throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Today they are declining rapidly, surviving only in portions of their former range. In western Greece, the sea around the island of Kalamos is their last stronghold, or at least it used to be. So why are the dolphins disappearing? We interview Giovanni Bearzi, the President of the Tethys Research Institute in Italy, and a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation. Giovanni has been studying coastal dolphins in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea for two decades. What began as a study on the ecology and behavior of common dolphins around Kalamos, became a systematic record of their demise. Only 30 kilometers away from Kalamos is the Amvrakikos Gulf where coastal bottlenose dolphins are thriving. Why is there such a drastic difference in the health of these two dolphin populations? We meet two local fishermen and discuss their relationship with dolphins and the state of sea around their community. Could what is happening to the common dolphins of Kalamos, also explain why they are disappearing throughout the Mediterranean Sea? Watch the Video
5. Sanctuaries of the Sea – Are Marine Protected Areas for Cetaceans a Solution? – (18 minutes)
   What does it mean to save whales, dolphins and porpoises if their habitat is left unprotected? Marine Protected Areas, also known as MPAs or Marine Sanctuaries, are the equivalent of national parks and protected areas on land. Erich Hoyt is an author and senior research fellow for WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. He feels that creating MPAs for cetaceans can have a far-reaching impact in conserving other species, and whole ecosystems. Marine scientists Ana Cañadas and Ric Sagarminaga work in the Alboran Sea off the coast of southern Spain. They are identifying critical habitats for migratory species while working with various local groups whose livelihoods depend on a healthy sea. However, can establishing MPAs protect cetaceans from all human pressures? We interview Cristina Fossi, a marine toxicologist from the University of Siena, Italy, whose work highlights the extreme levels of pollution in Mediterranean cetaceans. Our final program of the series, Whales of the Mediterranean Sea, explores whether whales, dolphins and porpoises can be the catalyst in protecting marine biodiversity in this ancient sea. Watch the Video

Whales of the Mediterranean Sea has been featured at a number of film festivals, and at international conservation meetings like the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2008 in Barcelona, Spain.