Stephane Mifsud, world apnea record holder, and Nicolas Ziani, shark biology specialist, president and founder of the new Phocaean Shark Study Group, have decided to cooperate to help raise awareness about the sharks and rays of the Grande Bleue.
A student of Prof. Christian Capapé, a pioneer in shark research in the Mediterranean and France in the 1970s, Nicolas Ziani is the founder, president, and reference biologist of the Phocaean Shark Study Group recently created in Marseille in August 2015. Since 2005, he has also been one of the biologists in the Mediterranean Shark Research Group (Mediterranean Shark Research Group) founded by Dr. Alessandro de Maddalena in 2000.
The meeting with Stéphane Mifsud, world champion of apnea, but also a sailor and field man, was a turning point for Nicolas Ziani. Both carrying important messages about environmental awareness and respect, they quickly wanted to cooperate, thanks to their complementary marine experiences and skills. Stéphane Mifsud’s Blue Odyssey will be a valuable ally for the studies conducted by Nicolas Ziani with the Phocaean Shark Study Group on sharks and rays (group of cartilaginous fish called Elasmobranchs) in the Mediterranean: observations, ecology, tagging, biopsies.
On board his Beneteau Oceanis 45 yacht assisted by semi-rigid boats powered by Suzuki Marine outboards, with the least environmental impact, Stéphane Mifsud will work with Nicolas Ziani on both educational and scientific missions on sharks and rays. Accessibility by sailboat and then by semi-rigid to search and find new sites will be necessary. Stéphane’s unique approach at sea and underwater will be essential in advancing these researches, supported by other diving, fishing, and biology members of the Phocaean Shark Study Group who will also contribute their skills for the successful realization of Stéphane and Nicolas’s field scientific work at sea.
Finally, to introduce children and adults to animals not commonly seen in the Mediterranean, to share knowledge, to inform in order to better protect, such is the vocation of this promising collaboration with Stéphane Mifsud’s Blue Odyssey whose beginnings were announced in December 2015 at the Paris Nautic Show.
Starting from spring 2016, field research will begin to learn more about the 40 species of sharks and over 30 species of rays present in
the Mediterranean along the southern coasts of France. This enclosed intercontinental sea, 0.7% of the world’s oceanic domain, particularly protects key sites for the conservation of still largely unknown species conducive to the reproduction of several different species of sharks and rays, constituting nursery zones, thanks to a favorable ecosystem.