We are three Tunisian researchers, enthusiastic about the marine world, joining the search for cetaceans within the framework of a great project on the Mediterranean scale: the project ACCOBAMS Survey Intiative (ASI). We are Mrs Rimel BENMESSAOUD CHERIF and Mr Mourad CHERIF & Sami KARAA. We joined the R/V SOTW in Monaco, for the survey period between 19th July and 12th August.
Where to begin …there is much to describe, from the spectacles and sights we have been shown and that have taken our breath away, or this very interesting research program that allowed us to consolidate and exchange our knowledge … between watching, helming, logging on the one hand, and cooking, washing up, cleaning heads and vaccuming on the other hand … we admit that we shared strong and unforgettable moments, without forgetting the challenge of the story telling game we have played together ‘tell me the truth’ !
Also, we must mention the great team who welcomed us warmly and made us feel at home from the moment we boarded. The diversity of nations has allowed us to discover different habits and customs which has enriched us on all fronts….
To our captain who without his know-how and his bravery we will not know what to do … thank you for these enriching discussions and the French translation that was of incredible help,
To our doctor, always looking for extreme experiences, who was always there when needed,
To our quiet crew member, even if not too talkative, who was always smiling and ready to help us,
To our guardian, this young man full of life, who carries in him human and scientific values uncountable,
To the young man whose name always reminds us of a song that our children sing in a loop … you will have a glorious future inchallah
A lovely German who carries the values of a whole other culture
To a young lady who has given such a beautiful image of a Turkish girl….. To you all we say thousand of THANKS.
Really an adventure rich in emotions ……That human and scientific experience can remind us that, despite our differences, only cetaceans were able to bring us together.
But before leaving you and wishing you such opportunity like ours … who are we? Rimel BENMESSAOUD is a teacher-researcher at the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT) in Tunis. Rimel is a specialist in the field of interactions between small cetaceans, fisheries and aquaculture farms. She has a doctoral thesis on the ecological and ethological study of the population of Tursiops truncatus from the north-eastern region of Tunisia and identification of her model of social structure. Rimel coordinates a pilot action on the mitigation of negative interactions between bottlenose dolphins – the Ashen shearwaters and the small pelagic fisheries of the northeastern coast of Tunisia. This pilot action, funded by the MAVA Foundation, is coordinated by the executive secretariats of ACCOBAMS and GFCM in collaboration with RAC / SPA.
Mourad CHERIF is a researcher at the National Institute of Sciences and Technologies of the Sea (INSTM- La Goulette) located in Tunis. Mourad is a specialist in biology, dynamics and evaluation of fish stocks. He has a doctoral thesis on the biology and exploitation of Rougets of the North Tunisian coasts. He started working on cetaceans in the same pilot project as Rimel. He is also a member of a project on mitigation of by-catch of vulnerable species in Tunisian fisheries. He is also an active member in various actions of the FAO-MedSudMed Project.
Sami KARAA is also a researcher of the INSTM (Sfax) specialist in Herpetology, having a doctoral thesis in ecology of sea turtles and cetaceans: strandings and surveys at sea. Sami is engaged in several environmental associations aiming at the conservation of the environment and the promotion of sustainable fisheries.
We would like to thank ACCOBAMS very much for giving us this opportunity.
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