Final Conference of the UNDERSEA Project in Rimini
Organized by Fondazione Cetacea, the project partner meeting and the final conference of the UNDerwatER Soundscape bEyond AIS (UNDERSEA) project were held on 4 and 5 June 2026 in Rimini (Italy). The project is funded under the Interreg Italy–Croatia 2021–2027 programme. On 4 June, a project partners’ meeting was held, during which the activities implemented to date and the results achieved by all participating institutions were presented. The partners agreed on the final steps related to the preparation of final reports, financial frameworks, implementation timelines, as well as the plan for data analysis and the preparation of scientific publications. Members of the project Advisory Board also participated in the meeting. On 5 June, the final project conference took place, followed in the evening by the performance “Different Waves”, which artistically presents the sounds of the sea and the issue of underwater noise—now a widespread form of pollution that significantly affects marine organisms and their environment. As part of the project’s educational activities, an international student art competition was organized on the topic of underwater noise and environmental protection. The announcement of the winning artwork formally concluded the final conference programme.
Contribution of the Croatian Natural History Museum to the Project
During the implementation of the project, the Croatian Natural History Museum, as one of the partners, successfully combined scientific research with public education. The Museum’s activities were carried out in two key directions: research on underwater noise and raising public awareness about this still insufficiently known type of pollution. Researchers from the Croatian Natural History Museum conducted recording and analysis of dolphin and whale vocalisations, as well as measurements of underwater noise in the southern Adriatic basin, while similar recording systems were deployed by other partners in the central and northern Adriatic.
Based on the collected data, the Museum’s experts are currently conducting analyses aimed at developing a reference database of dolphin and whale vocalisations occurring in the Adriatic. This database will enable more efficient analysis of underwater acoustic recordings and the identification of the presence of individual marine mammal species. The results will be published in relevant scientific journals, providing an important scientific basis for a better understanding and protection of marine mammals in the Adriatic. To bring the issue of underwater noise closer to the wider public, numerous educational activities were implemented throughout the project targeting children and citizens. These included lectures, workshops, popular science articles, online publications, as well as appearances on radio and television programmes, all highlighting the causes and consequences of the continuous increase in underwater noise—a hidden yet highly significant form of marine pollution. Attention was given to the fact that marine organisms use sound for communication, orientation, and hunting prey (echolocation), while increasing underwater noise can mask these signals, hinder spatial orientation, and disrupt communication between individuals.
An important part of the project also involved working with younger audiences, to whom concepts such as sound, marine animal vocalisations, underwater noise, and its impact on marine life were brought closer through educational and interactive content, workshops, and quizzes.