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Whalesafe Project On Board Costa Cruises’ Ships To Raise The Awareness Of Guests To The Conservation Of Sperm Whales

Specific edutainmentactivities for children on board and a special exhibition at the Savona Palacrocieredealing with the Pelagos Sanctuary <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

Genoa, 27October 2015 - The WhalesafeProject, co-funded by the European Union’sLife+ Program with the involvement of partners including the Università degli Studi di Genova (Department ofPhysics and Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Life), CostaEdutainment, Genoa Maritime Directorate, Savona Harbor Master’s Office andSofteco who havejoined forces for the conservation of the sperm whale (Physetermacrocephalus), has come on board CostaCruises’ ships.

The partnership is based on the determination to contributeto efforts to sensitize people to the importance of safeguarding the marineenvironment. A number of different activities are planned both on board at the Savona Palacrociere cruiseterminal, implemented thanks to the support of Costa Edutainment, which isin charge of raising publicawareness of the Whalesafe Project.

On the ships, the project work will be aimed atcapturing the attention of children. TheSquok Club, which is the organizedleisure center for the youngest guests on board, will be arranging fun educational activities on the subject of whales; this way, kidswill be able to play and at the same time learn to recognize the differentspecies of whales that live in the Pelagos Sanctuary, a marine protected areaof approximately 90,000 km² that was created in the Mediterranean in2001 by virtue of an agreement between France, Italy and the Principality ofMonaco. Whale sightings are common occurrences on cruises in this part of the Mediterranean.Under the guidance of shipboard personneltrained by experts from Genova Aquarium, children will learn how to recognizenot only the different species but also individual whales by observing their dorsalfins, which is the same technique used by researchers from the Aquarium involvedin the “Metropolitan Dolphins” project.

All Costa’sGuests can familiarize themselves with the Whalesafe Project and find out moreabout its objectives and the means used by the project partners to protectsperm whales, by watching a video on thesubject that will be broadcast on one of the shipboard TV channels.

Also, cruisers embarking or disembarking at the Savona Palacrociere will be able to seea special exhibition inside the terminaldealing with the Pelagos Whale Sanctuary. There will be explanations of the biology and evolutionof the 8 species frequently found in the area – in addition to the sperm whaleyou can find the fin whale, Cuvier’s beaked whale, Risso’s dolphin, pilotwhale, common dolphin, striped dolphin and bottlenose dolphin – as well as ofthe risks they are exposed to and the safeguards required to ensure their conservation. Visitors will also be given tips and suggestionson the correct approach to whale watching in the open sea, for example how torespect these mammals’ space and their natural habitat.

To ensure the effectiveness of this communicationcampaign among the general public, since August Costa Edutainment has been conductinga survey in the form of a questionnaire designed to test the opinions ofcruisers departing from Savona. Initial resultsbased on a sample of 950 passengers show that virtually everybody agrees thatshipping constitutes a potential threat to the conservation of the sperm whaleand people are in favor of the adoption by shipping companies of a Protocol ofConduct in order to prevent whale strikes.

It has also emerged that hardly anybody has detailedknowledge of the Pelagos Sanctuary and the majority of respondents are not evenaware of its existence, let alone where it is located. Hence the importance of the tools forsensitization implemented by the project.

Costa Cruises’ participation in this project is acorollary of the Italian company’s established position in the front line ofactivities to safeguard the marine environment. With specific regard to cetaceans, Costa hasalready adopted best practices to prevent collisions. Ship’s Officers take part in a WhaleProtection Training Program so they can make any necessary course and speedadjustments, and notify appropriate shoreside authorities.

The WhalesafeProject

Presented in December 2014, this is a 3-year project witha budget of approximately €1.8 million ofwhich €920,000 is EU funding.

The main objective of the project is to set up a system in the area immediately outsidethe Port of Savona, consisting of buoysthat can detect and track sperm whales, identify threats and prevent collisionsand other risks by issuing warning messages in real time to ships in thearea.

The sperm whale is a protected species listed in AnnexIV of the Habitats Directive as being in need of strict protection; it is oneof 8 species of cetacean found in the area of the Pelagos Sanctuary, which comprisesvirtually all of the Ligurian Sea.

The main threat to the conservation of these mammalsis represented by shipping, which can lead to collisions and noise pollution,disturbance of their feeding activity, changes in sperm whale behavior, injuriesand – in the worst cases – death of the whale.

In addition to the interference avoidance system, a protocol of conduct will be developedto reduce the risks of disturbance and whale strikes; this will be done in cooperationwith the Savona Harbor Master’s Office and the protocol will be adhered to by shippingcompanies operating in the vicinity. Uponreception of a warning message, the ships present in the area will be invitedto follow the protocol of conduct and the Coast Guard will enforce it.

Thanks to the active involvement of all the interestedparties, it is anticipated that the project will play a vital role in effortsto ensure protection of sperm whales and sustainable coexistence of the specieswith human activities based on responsible use of the sea.

Press Center

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Tel. +39 010/2345.240

stampaacquariodigenova@costaedutainment.it

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Gabriele Baroni – Communication Director – cell. +393497668013 - baroni@costa.it

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