The “ACCOBAMS Survey Initiative” (ASI) is a pilot programme aimed at establishing an integrated and coordinated monitoring system for cetaceans across the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic (hereafter “ACCOBAMS”) area. Conducted in coordination with Mediterranean coastal countries, it supports the implementation of European and regional policies, in particular...

The ACCOBAMS Survey Initiative (ASI) is the first synoptic large-scale survey of the entire ACCOBAMS Area and as such it plays a key role in filling the current gaps in our biological and ecological knowledge of large vertebrate species occurring in the region. Data gathered during the ASI were analyzed in a distance sampling surface-modelling framework to assess the summer distribution, densities and patterns, as well as to i...