Dolphin Hunting In Andalucia
February 10th, 2008 - Sandra MarshallI read this great article yesterday, about dolphin hunting in the Alborán Sea, and even more interesting than that there are dolphins nearby, was the fact that the Norweigan fishing boat in the article, The Tiftevaag, has here in Almerimar as its home port, AND it has even been featured in a BBC series!
Its work is funded by an international environment charity, focused on documenting the dolphin and whale populations in the Alborán Sea (one of the most important ecological regions in the Med), and what factors are affecting their survival.
It is written by one of the volunteers on board, who describes the old boat as having “the 19th century feel of a pirate ship, built for romance and adventure on the high sea”, and of after breakfast being “joined on either side of the boat by a large pod of common dolphins, that swam and splashed and jumped beside us, like marine outriders escorting us into their world.we were joined on either side of the boat by a large pod of common dolphins, that swam and splashed and jumped beside us, like marine outriders escorting us into their world.”
It sounds pretty idyllic! … here are some more extracts.
“I climbed the rigging of the old Norwegian fishing boat to watch an orange moon rising over the Alborán Sea. It was midnight in Andalucia, southern Spain. A motorboat chugged quietly into harbour and moored beside us; the mountains of the Sierra Nevada rose black in the distance. In the morning, we would sail in a south-westerly direction towards the coast of Morocco, to look for dolphins.
I was on board the Toftevaag, a wooden ketch commissioned in 1910 for herring fishing in the Northern Sea. Today, beautifully restored, varnished and equipped as a research vessel with modern navigational and scientific equipment, she belongs to Alnitak, which is a non-governmental agency (NGO).
Alnitak operates as a cetacean research organisation run by Spanish marine biologists Ana Cañadas and Ric Sagarminaga van Buiten. They patrol the coastal waters of Andalucia, monitoring the dolphins and whales that remain in the area.
Since 1991, Earthwatch, the international environmental charity, has funded the work of the Toftevaag, largely through the placement of volunteers, who pay for the unique experience of working with biologists in the field to protect cetacean life. The volunteers’ expenses contribute towards the high daily running costs of the Toftevaag, which sails between 40 and 50 nautical miles a day.
The BBC’s “Blue Planetâ€? series filmed aboard the Toftevaag and, inspired, I joined a team from the UK, France, US, Denmark and Germany in the boat’s home port of Almerimar.”
To read the article in full and see some great photos, click below:
AND I’d be interesting to know if any of you yachtsman out there know of the boat.
About Almerimar
Almerimar is located in the region of Andalucia, Spain. The nearest airport is 30km away in Almeria. Other airports that are within 3 hours include Malaga, Murcia, Granada, and Alicanti. Other holiday resorts in the region include Mojacar , Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar
Almerimar is a great place to live as an expat amongst the expats, or to work amongst the Spanish. There are all kinds of properties including villas, apartments and town houses for rent or sale. It is a very traditional part of Spain, with traditional Spanish foods so if you plan to travel to Spain either to look for jobs, for your company to trade with companies in Spain, or to learn Spanish and enjoy the Spanish weather then come and take a look.
If you are interested in purchasing a property in Almerimar please visit our sponsor Mirror of the Sun
Almerimar is also one of the largest marinas in Spain with over 2,000 births and excellent boatyard facilities.
