From November 22nd to November 24th, 2023, representatives from Life Conceptu Maris partners and members of the Advisory Board gathered at the ISPRA headquarters in Rome to discuss further improvements to the Common Database, created within the National Biodiversity Network, in order to accommodate the historical dataset of the Mediterranean Monitoring Network FLT (Fixed Line Transect 2007-2021) and the new data collected by Conceptu Maris.
The meeting stemmed from the need to standardize previously collected information to make it compatible with the more recent data, which adhere to a common shared protocol.

Over the three days, the Italian National Biodiversity Network was presented, comprising entities dedicated to biodiversity monitoring (including universities, protected areas, and museums), and its role in managing Conceptu Maris data, with a detailed description of the structure of the Common Database of Conceptu Maris.

The discussion laid the groundwork for the final verification of information, different levels of control, and validation for uploading datasets into the Common Database.
The last day was dedicated to identifying the most appropriate indicators, tables, and maps for displaying information for stakeholders and the general public.

Within the scope of LIFE Conceptu Maris, data from 2022 have now been recorded and validated, totaling 915 cetacean sightings and 642 marine turtle sightings along 67,000 kilometers covered by researchers in 201 sessions aboard ferries. In more detail, 16 routes were monitored throughout the year to detect seasonal movements and important areas where animals concentrate.
As expected, the striped dolphin was the most sighted species (422 sightings), followed by the giant of the sea, the fin whale (300 sightings), and the common marine turtles (642 sightings). Bottlenose dolphins, mainly coastal, were sighted 83 times, while other pelagic species were less frequent (23 sperm whale, 32 Cuvier’s beaked whales, 8 pilot whale, 4 Risso’s dolphin, 1 common dolphin and 1 minke whale).