“Sanctuaries of the Sea” revisits the ancient Mediterranean and its marine and cultural diversity. Today, much of the biodiversity of this sea is under threat, including its unique cetacean populations. Can creating Marine Protected Areas for cetaceans help protect their declining populations, as well as the species and habitats they depend on for survival?

Amvrakikos Gulf offers abundant prey resources allowing the local bottlenose dolphin population to thrive. However, only 30 kilometers away, around the island of Kalamos, over fishing has resulted in prey depletion and ecosystem collapse. Consequently, only a handful of endangered short-beaked common dolphins remain today. We meet scientists, educators and local fishermen to 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?

“A Fishy Business -The Illegal Driftnet Fishery”, focuses on an indiscriminate and destructive fishery. Despite multiple bans, the fishery continues in the Mediterranean Sea, putting populations of migratory fish, sea turtles and cetaceans at risk.

“Life in the Trenches” is an expedition through the Ionian Sea in search of the little known and endangered Mediterranean Sperm Whale. We join Dr. Alexandros Frantzis of the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute in Greece, onboard the Research Vessel Nereis. 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.

This is the first of a five-part series called “Whales of an Ancient Sea”. In this episode, earthOCEAN explore the geology, and oceanographic history of the ancient Mediterranean Sea. They discover the species of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) inhabiting the basin, talk with the scientists who work for the conservation of the species and their various habitats.

earthOCEAN speak with scientist Robert Pitman, of the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. He recently returned from China, where he participated in an international expedition, searching for the critically endangered river dolphin called ‘baiji’. View the guide for Teachers.

Discover more about the lives of southern right whales in Argentina. Follow the research of international scientists working to understand and protect these whales, and their marine environment.