Morigenos presents long-term dolphin research at Barcolana

On Monday, 6 October 2025, the president of Morigenos, Dr. Tilen Genov, attended a professional event held as part of this year’s Barcolana in Trieste. The event, organised by the Miramare Marine Protected Area and the Trieste Maritime Directorate (Guardia Costiera), focused on the conservation of marine mammals and other marine species in the Adriatic Sea, and on strengthening cooperation between science and maritime professionals.
Dr. Tilen Genov was invited as one of the speakers. In his presentation entitled “Long-term monitoring of marine mammals in the northern Adriatic”, he presented the work of Morigenos, which has been conducting scientific research on dolphins in Slovenian waters and the wider Gulf of Trieste since 2002. He highlighted the importance of long-term monitoring for understanding dolphin population dynamics, social structure and movement patterns, as well as environmental changes that affect their survival, and addressed some of the threats they face.
The event also featured presentations by Dr. Giovanni Bearzi, president of Dolphin Biology and Conservation, who spoke about the ecology of dolphins and their interactions with human activities in the Adriatic Sea, and Prof. Sandro Mazzariol from the University of Padua, who discussed the management of marine mammal strandings. Both researchers make an important contribution to the understanding and conservation of marine mammals in the region.
The lectures were primarily aimed at those who are closely connected with the sea in their work or leisure – among the audience were representatives of the port authorities of Trieste, Monfalcone and Porto Nogaro, the Trieste Port Authority, members of yachting and diving clubs, and researchers from Trieste’s scientific institutions. Such meetings enable direct knowledge exchange between scientists and those who spend their daily lives at sea, promoting a shared understanding of the importance of protecting the marine environment.
The event was also an opportunity to present some of the activities carried out within the Interreg SeaInsights project, including environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling from seawater and advanced drone-based sampling techniques.
The SeaInsights project is financed by the European Union as part of the Program VI-A Italy-Slovenia