The results were excellent, far exceeding expectations: although the initial target was to train at least 60 volunteers, 400 applications were received, 240 people completed the theoretical training and 128 completed the entire course, including practical training on board.

Thanks in part to the efforts of these volunteers, more than 6,000 reports of cetaceans and sea turtles were collected along 17 routes in the central and western Mediterranean. There are still several months of activity at sea left, including the spring-summer of 2025, so the numbers will grow further.

For the time being, however, it will no longer be possible to send new applications, but many of the partners involved will continue to train volunteers who have sent in their application form by the end of 2024.

Check the Citizen Science section for up-to-date information on individual routes.

For the future, the intention in the long term is to initiate a training course that will enable even more people to experience this interesting experience. More details will be posted on the LIFE Conceptu Maris website in the final stages of the project, in the second half of 2025.

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