The Monaco Yacht Club has hosted the launch of the first synchronised and standardised scientific census of marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. The ‘BioDivMed’ mission was inaugurated in the presence of HSH Prince Albert, and set off for Carnon, Hérault, in its second consecutive year.The mission aims to collect data on fish, crustacean, and mammal species to enhance the understanding of life below the sea’s surface.

In its initial phase last year, the BioDivMed mission identified 267 species of fish along over 2,000 kilometres of coastline. This year, the current mission aims to build on this success and continue expanding knowledge of Mediterranean marine biodiversity. The OceanoScientific team will gather DNA samples from approximately twenty sentinel sites to map the Mediterranean seabed, under the direction of Professor David Mouillot.

Leading this oceanographic campaign is the Marbec Joint Research Unit from the University of Montpellier in collaboration with Spygen, the Center for Functional & Evolutionary Ecology, philanthropic associations, We are Méditerranée, Andromède Océanologie and OceanoScientific.

Featured image courtesy of Manuel Vitali / Communications Department: The ‘Love the Ocean’ team