Within the activities of the Interreg IPA Adrion SAMESEA project, the Blue World Institute has organized and hosted the pilot action for the implementation of the widespread transnational monitoring of the sentinel species in the Adriatic-Ionian Region. The activity took place in Murter and the island of Vrgada (Croatia) on the 30th September, 1st October and 2nd October 2025 with  total of 28 participants from project partners organizations and several stakeholder groups.

On the first day of the Pilot action (30th September 2025) boat-based survey of the nearby fish farm at the island of Vrgada was organized. A group of bottlenose dolphins was found at the fish farm and the protocol on data collection about dolphin-aquaculture interactions was demonstrated during this observation, followed by discussion about these interactions and the protocol for monitoring was discussed among participants on the boat.

On the second and third days of the Pilot action a series of presentations developed jointly by the project partners was held in the meeting hall “Jedro” in Murter, addressing topics on cetaceans, sea turtles and monk seal, their monitoring and interactions with human activities in ADRION region. This was followed by the demonstration of stranding response protocol for small cetaceans and sea turtles on the nearby beach in Murter, where participants could practice basic procedures in collecting data about stranded animals and also rescue procedures.

This activity is part of the SAMESEA project, funded through the Interreg IPA Adrion cross-border cooperation program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia.