Did I get every single keyword inserted into the title? Hope so.
This year I wanted to do something a bit different from diving, something that would still include spending time at sea. Getting to understand a bit about dolphins and dolphin research has been great. Of course it's not so much - or at all - about diving, but it offers other interesting insights.
The Blue World research center is - for now - located at Veli Losinj, a beautiful fishing village in Croatia. The new place is being built in the more populated, neighboring town Mali Losinj. The center is not to move there for another two years or so.
As a volunteer, you get to go on the boat quite a bit with the Blue World staff members. All of the staff are not scientists, but the blue world center publishes actively in scientific journals. You will be working on data collection on dolphin behavior, feeding, numbers, etc mostly based on photo identification. These guys are really pros at finding the dolphins on the open sea, so you are definitely going to see your share.
Photo identification is the main data collection method. This is how it works. In the boat there are two staff members and the volunteers. One of the staff members is taking care of the boat, while the other stands in the front and takes the pictures. Volunteers will have two tasks to fulfill. One is to keep track of the waypoints using a GPS tracker & sheet of paper and the other is to use a smartphone application and make a note every time a dolphin raises to the surface for air (or any other reason).
First when the boat leaves, you are going for a search. At this point volunteers only scan the horizon for a possible sighting. If/When dolphin(s) are spotted, the sighting and the volunteer work begins. The waypoints are marked every five minutes when there is a dolphin sighting going on. The coordinates are checked from the GPS, saved into the tracker and also marked down to a sheet of paper with the indicators of dolphin behavior, sea state and the stage of the sighting. This option is better if you want to take some pictures with your own camera, since it is not as time demanding as using the smartphone app. (However it's better not to take your own camera for the first trips. Get used to the process first. You will have plenty of time to snap some great shots, don't worry.)
The other volunteer using the app (no, not available from the appstore) is recording every blow as dolphins come up to the surface for air. If there are a lot of dolphins, a lot of smartphone screen pressing is to be done:) Also the dolphin behaviour is marked. Most common behavior patterns are:
- D as for diving without a clear direction
- DT as for dive traveling with a clear direction
- S as for socializing (playing, jumping)
- ATF as Active trawler follow. Dolphins often feed behind fishing trawlers.
- PTF as Passive trawler follow. Following trawler, but not feeding.
Confirm the behavior from the staff members. This is just my blogpost!
Later the pictures are reviewed at the office and the staff is able to identify pretty much each dolphin that has been spotted, comparing the pictures to the catalog. This is very time demanding, since there can be hundreds of pictures from one sighting, and the dolphin identification is not a straightforward process but requires attention on the details of the scars, fin shape and behavior of the individual.
Many scientific papers and thesis have been written based on this very data. Ask the staff if you are working on yours, or if you are interested of a longer internship with them.
Note that these guys are not fooling around or spotting the dolphins only when it seems like fun for you and everyone. If a dolphin is spotted, a sighting will be recorded no matter how many hours you already have spent on the sea. However, the boat goes out only in near perfect weather conditions, so on windy or rainy days the boat stays in, at least when the volunteers are present. In any case, always prepare for a longer than planned stay with sandwiches and water.
There can be lot of tourist boats after the dolphins as well. They often follow the blue water boat when they notice that the dolphins have been spotted. This can cause a bit of a havoc, since some tourists have no respect and approach the dolphins
when in the boat
Make sure you know what your responsibility in the boat is. The blue world staff members are not tourist guides. Having volunteers on the boat means also having responsibility and extra load for the normal routines. The sea is not exactly forgiving mistakes, so listen to the staff instructions and don't start getting too excited when you see dolphins or other cool things. Prioritize the data collection to your own photography for everybody's well being.
The volunteer house
The house is perfectly located just 2 min walk from the harbor and from the blue world office in Veli Losinj center. The sea view to the bay from the terrace is really nice. The volunteers share a room with 5 beds. This year there were some periods with only two volunteers. The house has two bathrooms, kitchen and the dinner is usually served at the little garden or yard. The volunteering price consists of all meals, which means that the fridge is packed with all kind of stuff and everyone prepares their breakfast and lunch sandwiches themselves. The dinner is prepared in turns, so every now and then it will be your turn to prepare the dinner for everyone. Also the housekeeping and dish washing is done in turns, which circulate so that every now and then there is a free night with no responsibilities. Its nice to have dinner together and share the experiences of the day. Note that since it is a shared house, the tidiness is not always perfect. Its a pity since the house has potential to be really nice. In summer months you will also get used to some grasshoppers and bugs around the garden, as well as the two cats who live there. At the time of writing, the other volunteer in the house was allergic to cats but was not very bothered since they stayed outside. The house has a stereo, tv, but (fortunately!) no wi-fi so you can get rid of your internet addiction here. There is a washing machine for clothes available.
Other things to do
The island is perfect for many outdoor activities. You will have some free time also, since not all days are spent in the boat. The hiking trials by the coast are stunning, and you can walk miles just adoring the coast and when walking towards and after Rovenska bay, you can even get lucky and spot dolphins from the trail. If you want more demanding hikes, head to the hills and you will have plenty of rocky paths to climb. Also chances for mountain biking and open water swimming are excellent. At Čikat Bay you can do windsurfing (really, try it! It's really cool and you can get thee equipment for around 10€/hour. If you want a course or classes, book in advance - there are lot of people during summer months), and explore some Austrian style villas on the go. If you are into diving, look for Neno-Sub in Mali Losinj harbor, just behind the fisherman statue. The diving here is not like in the Philippines, but you have great visibility, nice drop offs and easy caves, and water temperatures around 19-25 degrees in August.
Some thoughts
It is really great that such a project is taking place. Sometimes you might wonder what's the deal for just shooting endless amount of photos and then identifying the individuals for the rest of the week. How is this exactly helping the dolphins to survive? Keep in mind that this is the base data that is used by many researchers to gain and publish information on how the population is doing. Another thing that puzzled me was the tourist boats that followed the research boat after they found out that the dolphins were present. It is acknowledged that the boat traffic is the main purpose of stress, so wouldn't it sometimes be better to avoid the contact altogether? Luckily the local tourist operators really respect the dolphins and the researcher boat, but this is not always the case with random tourist boats which sometimes chase the dolphins rather wildly. That's why the Blue World is there to raise awareness. Also it would be cool if the group would be able to assist or do more in cases when the dolphin really needs help. Such cases include dolphins which are injured after been tangled in a net, or even worse as what happened when we were here, shot with a spear gun. Unfortunately not much can be done besides documenting the cases and informing media. You can have some interesting discussions on the topic with the staff.
Amazing experience
This is a truly unique experience and gets you in touch with the dolphin research as well as the local community in a way you could never experience through a hotel-stay. Thanks Tihana, Matea & Marco for this opportunity for letting us work with you. It's been a real eye opener and never have 12 days gone so fast than here.
Packing to the trip
Don't overdo it. Unless you are combining your Adriatic experience with some other journeys, you can keep it as light as possible. I came with a carry on luggage only and was just fine. Essentials would include : Shorts, T-shirts, flip-flops, a light long sleeve shirt for sun/wind protection, a light jacket, a camera, swimming goggles, sunglasses.
