The Ocean Lovers, a Nautica Assistance project, is dedicated to raising awareness within the yachting community regarding marine conservation, specifically in Sardinia and beyond. Through information dissemination and seminars, we aim to encourage individuals to support our monitoring and registration project.

You can contribute by filling out the form below, assisting in the data collection process for cetacean sightings in our marine waters. The information provided by sailors through this link will streamline the collection of necessary data, facilitating its direct transmission to authorities responsible for studying various marine mammal species in our waters.

The yachting community frequenting our waters can actively participate in monitoring efforts by providing photos and data related to marine cetacean sightings. Your involvement will play a crucial role in supporting this initiative.

A large, slender whale similar to the blue whale but head V-shaped in dorsal view, rather than U-shaped; dorsal fin high and placed even with or posterior to anus, on posterior one-fourth of body; pectoral fin about one-ninth of total length; head flattened, with right side more whitish than left; right lower jaw white, left grayish to black; upperparts gray, underparts pure white; grooves on throat numerous and extending beyond navel; whalebone lead color with whitish or yellowish fringes, 45-90 cm long, and more than 400 blades on each side. External measurements of an immature animal: total length, 18 m; tip of snout to corner of mouth, 3.6 m; expansion of flukes, 4.3 m. Old individuals attain a length of 22 m or more. Weight of a 21-m female, 59.4 metric tons.

The sperm whale is the best known member of the whale family, generally being represented in toys and drawings. Moby Dick was a sperm whale. The most distinctive feature is the large, blunt head. The single blowhole, located near the front and to the left side of the head, is angled forward about 45 degrees; spouts reach 20 feet into the air. The lower jaw contains 18-25 teeth which assist in eating squid and other cephalopods. Another trait is the absence of a dorsal fin. Instead, a large hump is present and behind it a series of bumps along the ridge of the back that extends to the large, notched, triangular flukes or tail flippers. A male can be up to 19 m in length and weigh 59 tons. Overall, the body is dark blue to slate gray on the upper parts, lighter colored underneath, and white around the mouth. The brain of the sperm whale is the largest of any animal, averaging 15+ pounds and reaching up to 20 pounds.

Adult males measure up to 6.1 m in length and weigh up to 2,722 kg. Adult females measure up to 4.9 m in length and weigh up to 1,361 kg. They have a round head with a small beak and dolphin-typical up-curved mouthline. The rounded head of males protrudes over the lower jaw. Pilot whales are dark gray to black in color with a lighter colored patch on the ventral surface. The dorsal fin is curved with a long base, and the flippers are also curved.

This is a medium-sized dolphin that averages 3 m in length and 300 kg in weight. Maximum size is about 4.3 m in length and 680 kg in weight. Body form is stocky from the dorsal fin forward but the tailstock is slender. The head is blunt, beakless, and divided medially by a heavy crease. Coloration is dark gray with lighter gray patches ventrally. In older individuals the face and area just forward of the dorsal fin is also light gray. They are often heavily scarred by parasites and by wounds inflicted by other Risso’s dolphins. The blunt, creased head and extensive scarring are noticeable as the animals ride boat bow waves, or spyhop, and are probably the best field character for distinguishing these dolphins. 

A moderately small beaked whale with upperparts ranging in color from dark brown to lead gray or blackish in color; underparts paler, but not whitish; occasionally head and upper back whitish; beak moderately prominent and the forehead rising rather sharply; lower jaw longer than upper; pectoral fin relatively small and the dorsal fin placed on posterior third of body; prominent keel extends from dorsal fin to tail; skull with length of rostrum less than twice its breadth at notch; lower jaw of males with two teeth (about 7 cm in length and 4 cm in diameter) at the tip; two converging grooves on throat. Total length of adults, 5-7 m. Weight, 2.5-4.5 metric tons.

A slender dolphin that reaches lengths of about 2.4 m and averages 100 kg in weight. Maximum size is approximately 2,7 m in length and 129 kg in weight. Strikingly colored in shades of gray or brown. Dark dorsally fading to lighter sides and white ventrally with black stripes extending from the eye to the anus and from the eye to the flipper. Dorsal fin tall, beak relatively short and uniformly dark. There are 43-50 teeth in each side of both jaws, average total is 200.

This is a small, slender dolphin with a long, well defined beak. Average length is 2.1 m with a maximum of about 2.6 m. Weight may be up to 135 kg. Coloration is distinctive. The back is brownish-gray to black and the belly is white. A crisscross, or "hourglass" pattern of light gray, yellow, or tan bands occurs on the sides and a black stripe extends from the lower jaw to the flipper. The rostrum is black with a white tip and the eyes are set in a black, circular patch from which black lines run forward to the base of the snout. Although varying in extent between individuals, the black dorsal coloration extends down the sides below the dorsal fin giving the impression of a saddle.

A rather stout, short-beaked (seldom more than 75 mm long) dolphin with sloping forehead and projecting lower jaw; dorsal fin high, falcate, and situated about midway from snout to flukes; pectoral fin broad at base, obtusely rounded at tip; upperparts plumbeous gray, more or less tinged with purplish, becoming black soon after death; sides pale gray, belly white; teeth 23/23, large, nearly round in cross section in adults, and conical; height above jawbone, 12-17 mm, diameter, 5-9 mm. Total length of adults may reach 3.5 m. A sub-adult male measured: total length, 2.9 m; length of pectoral fin, 39 cm; vertical height of dorsal fin, 23 cm.