Off the coast of the city of Ilva there is a world rich in biodiversity and cetaceans that offers hope of revitalization for the territory. The tale of the biologists of the Jonian Dolphin Conservation
Its coat of arms is a dolphin, yet Taranto today increasingly resembles a sperm whale. It may seem strange, but the City of Two Seas and the giants of the oceans have something in common: an enormous need for redemption and rebirth, a restart that could come thanks to the magnificent cetaceans that populate the Gulf.
For years in the collective imagination we have associated Taranto with Ilva and its poisons, with the sick and wind days - the cursed windy days - in which, due to pollutants, children cannot even play outdoors. Yet Taranto, and especially its sea, is a treasure trove of biodiversity that in Southern Italy offers a unique spectacle, like the one given to a lucky few on the morning of Sunday, November 1st. Shortly after 11, researchers from the Jonian Dolphin Conservation - research and whale watching groupwhich for years has been fighting for conservation in the waters of Taranto - after a few jumps of dolphins, they suddenly began to see caudal fins. First four, then six, nine, five cubs: in total there were 14 sperm whales, male, female and young, all together.
"It was exciting, a unique moment - says Stefano Bellomo , biologist of the Jdc -. We often spot sperm whales, but never so many together. Once again, the presence in our waters of these animals, of the many and little-known grampi and of several other cetaceans, makes us understand the importance of working to protect this portion of the sea, a conservation that would benefit the entire territory of Taranto ".
If the dolphin is the emblem of the city, the sperm whale could therefore become a symbol of rebirth. For over 200 days a year - except in this difficult season due to Covid - the researchers and operators of the Jonian Dolphin Conservation accompany students, citizens and tourists at least eight miles offshore, towards that underwater canyon "so full of life. as in the north there are canyons in the sanctuary of Pelagos, here in an escarpment over a thousand meters deep there is a paradise full of biodiversity. We see more and more sperm whales passing by that here feed on squid. , with specimens that come back even after years, we had seen one of these in 2016 and for example was recently sighted.Others believe that they are now permanent. We have counted and identified at least 117 grampi, cetaceans of which little is known and which we intend to continue studying and then many dolphins, sea turtles and fish of all kinds. Off the town there is a very lively world that needs help "explains Bellomo.
An area that offers so many possibilities, from research to sustainable tourism, however, needs protection. "This is why we are carrying out the Blue Oasis project". In fact, for some time the Jdc together with the University of Bari and various other actors, also with the support of the municipal administration, have been trying to strengthen the protection of the Gulf of Taranto and create a blue oasis, a more protected area where more and more research, from Life projects to collaborations with Cnr and relaunching the City of the Two Seas in an environmental and tourist key.
"We are close to a very important and soon to be implemented intervention, carried out in concert with several stakeholders, including the Municipality of Taranto, for the establishment of the Blue Oasis, that is, an off-shore protection area (offshore) for these animals "says Carmelo Fanizza , president and founder of the Jonian Dolphin Conservation.
"For us it would be a dream - adds Bellomo - but above all it would be a victory for the animals". In fact, sperm whales are a species that in the Mediterranean, between overfishing, collisions with ships, various types of anthropogenic actions, plastic pollution and diseases is now in decline and classified as endangered.
Pending the establishment of the Blue Oasis and past this difficult moment linked to the pandemic, the experts of the Jonian Dolphin Conservation will soon return to the sea for new projects, such as the "Researcher for a day" in which they offer anyone the opportunity to discover and closely observe the splendid cetaceans of the Gulf of Taranto. And among dozens of dolphins, which are almost always sighted, the hope today is always to see the caudal fin of the sperm whale sprout, the new symbol of Taranto's redemption.