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Eco-Navigation

A guide for sailors and sea enthusiasts to report their observations in a citizen science database.

Overview

Help us help the sea!

The Mediterranean Sea supports more than 7% of known global marine species, which have learned to evolve with the development of the Mediterranean coastline. Within the last century, a large strain has been placed on marine life due to pollution, habitat destruction and overfishing. Species that have existed in these waters for thousands of years are being silently pushed into the abyss of extinction.

Eco-Navigation is a citizen-science platform that we have developed allowing Archipelagos to exchange information with sea enthusiasts from all over the world. We have created a large network of sailors with whom we have joined forces in order to protect the rare wildlife of our seas from the increasing threats of human activity.

Archipelagos researchers are often seen around Greek islands conducting Eco-Navigation surveys at ports and marinas, as we look to expand our database. The most useful data for us to collect are the name of the species, the location in which it was found and the abundance of the animal. Images are really helpful for our research, more so with marine mammals such as dolphins as our research team can have a closer look at them for photo identification of their dorsal fins.

 

MARINE OBSERVATION RECORDING FORM

(description, geographic coordinates)

(behavior, etc.)

Observation made by:
CAPTCHA image

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Eco-Navigation Booklet

Click to the image to download our Leaflet

Eco Navigation Sightings

 

How can you help?

Archipelagos invites you to join our citizen science platform, Eco-Navigation, where sea enthusiasts can report their observations from their journey at sea. Through Eco-Navigation, you can easily collaborate with expert scientists on marine research and conservation efforts - just by sending us some simple details. You can help us by reporting sightings of marine mammals and other sea cratures such as: dolphins, whales, sea turtles, seals, jellyfish blooms, shellfish and invasive fish species.

ENJOY OUR SEAS WITH RESPECT

 Maintain a safe distance from dolphins and whales to avoid causing disturbance

 Admire marine animals from a safe distance

 Target only fully matured fish when fishing

 Keep seas and coasts clean

 Collect any waste that you might find in the sea and coasts, where possible

  

 Don’t anchor in Posidonia seagrass meadows, as eachanchor scar can take several decades to recover

 Don’t feed or harass marine animals

 Don’t approach or enter sea caves

 Don’t collect marine organisms (shells, sea stars) as souvenirs

 Don’t conduct spear gun fishing at night or while scuba diving, as it is illegal. Report any incidents you notice

 

Report a sighting or stranding:

Select one of the icons below to see all the species of the Aegean sea.

Signs of Pollution & Other Unusual Sightings

Marine pollution includes a range of threats including oil spills, fertilizer runoff from farms and lawns, sewage disposals, toxic chemicals and seas of solid garbage. It threatens the health of the ocean and its living resources and results in huge damages to the marine environment of many recreational divers.

Oil

Oil at sea is cause by tanker ship accidents and illegal disposal of oil waste and byproducts from cargo ships. It destroys the insulating and water repellency ability of fur-bearing mammals and birds leading to death due to hypothermia. Ingesting oil when animals and birds try to clean themselves can poison them. Additionally, Fish and shellfish experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion, and reproduction impairment when exposed to oil.

Fertilizer runoff and sewage disposals

80% of urban sewage discharged into the Mediterranean Sea is untreated. These extra nutrients cause flourishing alga blooms that deplete the dissolved oxygen in the water and suffocate marine life, leading to enormous dead zones.

Toxic chemicals

Toxic pollution causes reductions in wildlife numbers, degrades ecosystem functions and threatens human health. Some of the known effects on marine animals include cancer, lesions, genetic and developmental deformities, behavior abnormalities, reproductive failures, and death.

Plastic waste

Plastic poses a grave threat to marine life for a number of reasons, including: entanglement, ingestion and choking. A shockingly large percentage of marine animals, including birds, have traces of plastic within their bodies causing mortalities.

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