I watched their large dorsal fins emerging from the surface of the water, heard their chatter and the sound of their powerful blowing spouts and watched their unique profiles darting around the helm. I knew they were looking at me. It was during this moment of eye contact that I felt the strong impulse to protect these giants of the sea. I will never forget the first time I encountered a pod of Risso’s dolphins. From that moment, a connection was made and I decided to dedicate my time to studying this little known species of cetaceans in the Mediterranean.

Among the countless amazing species and creatures living on our planet, a group of them have managed to grip my heart: cetaceans. These incredible animals have evolved over millions of years of adapting to life in the big blue. Dolphins and whales play an important role in ocean legends worldwide but they also play a key role in the ecosystem, that of predator and bio-engineer of their native habitats. Nowadays, there are 80-90 known species of cetaceans, and they have colonised every marine habitat, from the pelagic off-shore waters to the near-coast habitats, from estuaries to freshwater rivers.

Cetaceans should be well-studied and protected, but the reality is different. Many threats like pollution, over-fishing and whale hunting are compromising their survival and even our “love” for them can be the cause of many problems – they do not fare well in captivity. For this reason, a group of people in Taranto, an Italian town in Puglia, lead by Carmelo Fanizza, decided to dedicate their lives to observing, studying and protecting these creatures and, in 2009, they founded Jonian Dolphin Conservation (JDC). This scientific NGO sails out on the Gulf of Taranto, the Northern Ionian Sea, thanks to its citizen science initiatives. The “researcher for a day” programme invites guests on board to help the team collect data in order to better understand and preserve the several species of cetaceans living in the area. Striped, bottlenose, common dolphins and sperm whales are observed every year but one cetacean species in particular is catching the attention of the JDC in the last couple of years: Risso’s dolphins.