The LIFE MareNatura project (July 2023 – June 2029) aims to mitigate the threats that affect nine (9) of the most threatened EU priority species of seabirds, marine turtles and marine mammals. These species are the Mediterranean Monk seal, the Loggerhead turtle, the Green turtle, the Sperm whale, the Harbour porpoise, the Cuvier’s beaked whale, the Common dolphin, the Yelkouan shearwater and the Audouin’s gull.

So far, the majority of the conservation efforts have targeted the breeding areas of these species and thus their offshore habitats (feeding grounds, congregation sites and migration corridors) remained to a large degree unexplored. The goal of the LIFE MareNatura Project is to significantly contribute to the conservation of these offshore habitats, through the identification of biodiversity hotspots in the Ionian, Southern Adriatic and Aegean Seas, strongholds of the target species populations, by employing a massive multidisciplinary survey effort through innovative technologies and methods.