Delfini del Ponente APS

I'm Serena, a university student. I attended the first three years at the University of Turin, and I graduated in December 2018 as a naturalist. I subsequently decided to continue my studies abroad and I am currently attending the Master of Environmental Management at the University of Montbéliard in France. This year the career plan included a two-month internship and in October I started looking for it. As soon as I read about the project ‘’Delfini del Ponente ” I quickly filled out the registration form, hoping to be chosen. The cetacean world has always fascinated me and the chance to better study these particular mammals has won me over immediately. They took me in the team, and I can't be happier to have been chosen. The Internship has been intense, full of new experiences, new encounters, sightings and lot of fun. In two months we made 11 excursions and we saw bottlenose dolphins and striped dolphins. In addition to the excursions we also worked in the office with the photo identification and processing the data taken during the excursions. We also attended several theoretical lessons on the fauna of the Ligurian Sea, on the social aspects of dolphin life, on echolocation and much more… It’s an experience that I will always carry in my heart. Moreover, I discovered in myself a very strong bond with Imperia and the Ligurian Sea and I understood that I want to continue to specialize in this area. I warmly thank Barbara Nani, president of the Costa Balenae cooperative and of course Elena Fontanesi and Davide Ascheri, who allow students like me to be able to carry out an experience of this kind, which enriches both from a working and a human point of view.

I've spent 1 month at delfini del ponente and I loved it:) we saw many different species on the surveys, mostly bottlenose or striped dolphins but also long-finned pilot whales or fin whales. By doing the office work I could have a closer look into the daily life of a scientist and I enjoyed it very much:) in this one month could learn more than I expected. But not only this, I also felt very welcome and comfortable in the team. The people there are very nice and will always help you if you have a problem or a question. Thank you very much for the great time in Imperia!

A fantastic opportunity to explore up close the marine diversity which the Ligurian sea has to offer. It will be an experience you will never forget, which an amazing team of like-minded, hard working individuals there to support you at every step. Very professionally organised, allowing you to gain first hand experience on what it is like to be a field-based cetacean researcher. I'd highly recommend to anyone wanting to pursue a career in this field, or have a passion for marine mammals, you won't regret it!