This project aims to create a platform for the promotion and coordination of international cooperation of the Cetaceans, Birds and Sea Turtles Working Group within the Initiative for the sustainable management of the Alboran Sea.

This project aims to create a platform for the promotion and coordination of international cooperation of the Cetaceans, Birds and Sea Turtles Working Group within the Initiative for the sustainable management of the Alboran Sea.

The Alboran Sea is a maritime space with entry and exit from the Mediterranean Sea and a point of contact between Africa and Europe, therefore, an area of great importance at a geopolitical, strategic and scientific level. In addition, given the importance of its ecosystems and biodiversity, it is considered to be the engine of biodiversity in the western Mediterranean.

It is home to pelagic marine species such as cetaceans, turtles and seabirds. Among others, the bottlenose dolphin, the common dolphin, the striped dolphin, Cuvier’s beaked whale, the loggerhead turtle, the shearwater, the Cory’s shearwater and Audouin’s gull stand out. Also noteworthy are the posidonia meadows and the maerl bottoms, whose role in marine food webs is essential.

Among the planned actions, the following stand out:

• Creation and implementation of a Working Group on Cetaceans, Turtles and Seabirds (GTCAT).
• Compilation and updating of a database with information necessary for the development of a regional strategy for the conservation of cetaceans, birds and sea turtles in the Alboran Sea.
• Design and realization of an Internet portal of the GTCAT.
• Mapping habitat preferences of different species.
• Analysis of the evolution of some of these species according to the availability of data from previous years.