International Coast Day

Parties to the Barcelona Convention declared the 25th of September as Coast Day. On this day Slovenia, as a first Mediterranean country, ratified the Protocol of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). Meeting of Mediterranean countries which signed the mentioned protocol is being organized by the Slovenian Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning on 25th September 2010 in Portorož. As part of the meeting various NGOs will present their work trough different activities at the Bernardin lagoon. Morigenos will set up an information point, present the photo exhibition on bottlenose dolphins and the humpback whale and hold a lecture about life of dolphins and their role in the marine ecosystem. DOPPS (BirdLife Slovenia) will introduce the protected area of Škocjan inlet, Škocjan Caves Park will present their work, while Eco Vitae and Nemo Divers will organize the cleaning of Slovenian coastline (both above water and underwater).

Join us!

Mednarodni dan obale

Članice Barcelonske konvencije so 25. september razglasile za Dan obale. Na ta dan je namreč Slovenija kot prva Sredozemska država ratificirala Protokol o celovitem upravljanju z obalo (ICZM). Srečanje Sredozemskih držav, ki so podpisnice omenjenega protokola bo pod organizacijskim vodstvom Ministrstva za okolje in prostor potekalo 25. 9. 2010 v Portorožu. V sklopu srečanja se bodo predstavile nevladne organizacije z različnimi aktivnosti. V društvu Morigenos bomo ob laguni v Bernardinu predstavili naše delovanje na informativni točki, pripravili razstavo fotografij delfinov in kita grbavca v slovenskem morju ter predavanje o življenju delfinov in njihovi vlogi v morskem ekosistemu. DOPPS (Društvo za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije) bo predstavilo zavarovano območje Škocjanski zatok, predstavil se bo Park Škocjanske jame, Ekološko društvo Eco Vitae in potapljaško društvo Nemo Divers pa bosta organizirala čistilno akcijo slovenske obale na kopnem in pod vodo.

Vljudno vabljeni!

Vaquita - Zadnja priložnost za puščavsko pliskavko

Kalifornijska rjava pliskavka ali "vaquita" (Phocoena sinus) je najmanjša živeča vrsta kitov in delfinov, ki doseže velikost le do 1,5 metra. Zakaj je tako posebna? Živi samo v severnem delu Kalifonijskega zaliva v Mehiki (Korteško morje). Vaquita (pomeni “majhna krava”) je zelo izmuzljivo in plašno bitje, ki je v kritični nevarnosti izumrtja. Zadnje ugotovitve so pokazale, da živi le še približno 250 oebkov. Ta številka upada predvsem zaradi naključnega zapletanja v ribiške mreže. Ali je vaquita naslednja v vrsti za izginotje, po izumrtju jangceške pliskavke ali baijija (Lipotes vexillifer) v letu 2007?

V oktobru 2008 je organzacija earthOCEAN pričela s projektom Ekspedicija Vaquita (Expedition Vaquita). Pridružili so se znanstvenikom in dokumentirali prizadevanja ocenitve velikosti populacije, identifikacije glavnih problemov ter iskanja možnih rešitev. Oglejte si dokumentarec Vaquita – Last chance for the desert porpoise in poglejte kaj so odkrili.

"Vaquita nima nobene vrednosti kot dobrina: je preveč plašna in majhna, da bi kadarkoli lahko podpirala ekoturizem. Ni ključen člen v morski prehranjevalni verigi. Proteini v njenih jetrih ne skrivajo zdravila za nobeno človeško bolezen. Je zgolj skromno bitje, ki išče svojo pot, kot vsi mi. Njena izguba bi verjetno komajda bila opažena. Pa vendar, je del veličastne pestrosti življenja na Zemlji, ki jo je naša generacija podedovala, in hitro postaja del izginjajoče dediščine, ki jo zapuščamo za seboj. Imamo še kakšno leto ali dve, da se odločimo ali bomo to vrsto pustili živeti, ali pa bomo, tako kot pri jangceški pliskavki, izglasovali njen izgon z otoka in zbrisali tisti majhni črni nasmeh z obličja Zemlje za vedno."

Robert Pitman, NOAA Southwest Fisheries, 'How Now, Little Cow?', Natural History magazine, 2007

Foto: Chris Johnson / earthOCEAN

Vaquita - Last Chance for the Desert Porpoise

Vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the smallest living cetacean species, reaching only up to 1,5 meters. Why is it so special? It lives only in the northern area of the Gulf of California, Mexico (Sea of Cortez). The vaquita (meaning »little cow«) is a very elusive and shy creature and is in critical danger of extinction. Latest findings reveal that only about 250 animals remain. Their numbers are declining, mainly because of accidental entanglement in gill nets. Is vaquita next in line to disappear after the extinction of the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) in 2007?

In October 2008 earthOCEAN launched project Expedition Vaquita and joined scientists to document their effort to estimate the population size, identify the main problems and find solutions. Check out the documentary Vaquita – Last chance for the desert porpoise and see what they discovered.

“The vaquita has no value as a commodity: It is too shy and small ever to support an ecotourism venture. It is not a vital link in the marine food chain. There is no cure for any human disease lurking in its liver proteins. It is just a lowly beast trying to make its way, like the rest of us. Its loss would barely be noticed. Yet it is part of the magnificent diversity of life on Earth that our generation inherited, and it is rapidly becoming part of the dwindling legacy we are leaving behind. We have a year or two now to decide whether we are going to let this species live, or whether, like the baiji, we vote it off the island and wipe that little black smile off the face of the Earth forever.”

Robert Pitman, NOAA Southwest Fisheries, ‘How Now, Little Cow?', Natural History magazine 2007.

Photo: Chris Johnson / earthOCEAN

Eko filmski večer

Tudi letos se bo v okviru evropskega tedna mobilnosti ter Eko tedna v Kopru od 16. do 22. septembra vsak dan veliko dogajalo. Prirejajo se športna tekmovanja, predstavila se bodo različna društva, organizirana bo čistilna akcija, vrata bodo odprli različni muzeji in zbirke.

16. 9. vas vabimo, da se nam ob 20.00 uri pridružite v Taverni, kjer bomo v sodelovanju z društvom Pangea, e-kavarno PINA in društvom neodvisnega filma DEMIURG predvajali z Oskarjem nagrajen dokumentarni film Skriti zaliv. Vstop prost! Vabljeni!

Več o Evropskem tednu mobilnosti: http://www.tedenmobilnosti.si/2010/main.php

Novo presenečenje: še en kit grbavec v Sredozemlju

Se še spomnite kita grbavca (Megaptera novaeangliae), ki je priplaval v severni Jadran in slovenske vode v letu 2009? Imamo še eno nenavadno novico o tej vrsti. Kolegi iz centra za raziskovanje kitov in delfinov CE.TU.S so nas obvestili o opažanju kita grbavca 1 km od mesta Viareggio (Toskana, Italija), 27. avgusta 2010. Takoj smo opravili primerjavo njihovih in naših fotografij in ugotovili, da to ni ista žival, ki je lani priplavala v naše vode.

Na fotografiji: kit grbavec v slovenskem morju (Foto: Tilen Genov / Morigenos)

New surprise: another humpback whale in the Mediterranean

Do you still remember the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that appeared in Slovenia (north Adriatic) in 2009? We've got more extraordinary news about this species. Colleagues from CE.TU.S Cetacean Research Centre informed us about a humpback whale sighting 1 km off the town Viareggio (Tuscany, Italy), on 27th August 2010. We immediately compared their photographs to ours and found out that this is not the same individual that visited Slovenian waters last year.

Photograph: humpback whale in Slovenian waters (Photo: Tilen Genov / Morigenos)

Morigenos and Nature Park Strunjan

Nature Park Strunjan is the only such park in Slovenia that also includes a marine reserve. This is the longest part of natural sea coast in the Gulf of Trieste, with rich bio- and landscape diversity, as well as cultural herritage. Dolphins can often be found there.

Throughout the park it is forbidden to carry out activities that could harm natural resources and the ecological, biotic or cultural value of the park. Greater numbers of violations are caused by increased numbers of vessels and lack of awareness.

Morigenos officially joined the monitoring of the marine reserve of the park, by signing an agreement with the Management body of the Nature Park Strunjan on 17th August 2010 in Strunjan. We will carry out regular surveys with Morigenos boat in order record potential violations at sea or on the shore. By providing leaflets and information we will be informing visitors about the regulations in the park. In cases of serious violations or disregard of the information provided, competent authorities will be informed. The aim of monitoring is also to record the presence of various animal species and other environmental data. The results of monitoring will serve as a baseline for measures to improve the current conservation status of the park.

More about National Park Strunjan at: http://www.parkstrunjan.si/

Photo: Janez Mužič

Morigenos in Krajinski park Strunjan

Krajinski park Strunjan je edini tovrstni park v Sloveniji, ki vključuje tudi morski rezervat. Tu je ohranjen najdaljši del naravnega morskega obrežja v Tržaškem zalivu, z bogato biotsko pestrostjo ter kulturno krajino. Na območju parka se pogosto zadržujejo tudi delfini.

Na območju celotnega parka se ne sme izvajati dejavnosti, ki bi lahko škodljivo vplivale na naravne vrednote ter ekološko, biotsko ali krajinsko vrednost parka. Do večjega števila kršitev prihaja predvsem zaradi povečanega števila plovil ter neosveščenosti ljudi.

Društvo Morigenos je s podpisom dogovora z Javnim zavodom Krajinski park Strunjan, 17. avgusta 2010 v Strunjanu, uradno pristopilo k spremljanju stanja na morskem delu parka. S plovilom bomo redno spremljali in beležili morebitne kršitve na morju in obali Krajinskega parka Strunjan. Preko zloženk in podajanja informacij bodo obiskovalci opozorjeni na pravila vedenja v parku, v primeru hujših kršitev ali ob neupoštevanju opozoril pa bodo o tem obveščene pristojne službe. Namen spremljanja je tudi beleženje prisotnosti opaženih živalskih vrst ter posebnosti na morskem in obalnem območju parka. Pridobljeni rezultati spremljanja razmer v parku bodo osnova za pripravo ukrepov za izboljšanje ugotovljenega stanja.

Več o Krajinskem parku Strunjan na: http://www.parkstrunjan.si/

Foto: Janez Mužič

6th Dolphin Day

Join us at our yearly event »My, your, our dolphins« taking place at Tartini square in Piran, Slovenia, on Saturday, 31 July 2010. You can learn about dolphins in Slovenia, get the latest news about the work of Morigenos, see a photo exhibition and watch the Oscar winning documentary »The Cove«. Children can take part in creative workshops, educational games and learn more about the lives of dolphins. The fun and educational programme also includes a tombola, boat trip, dance shows and a music concert.

Join us! Admission is free.

You can see the programme here (in Slovenian and Italian).