Common whales, the world’s second largest whale, dolphins and other cetaceans are to be found in the ocean off the Portuguese west coast but they have yet to be studied and their numbers established.

“We want to clarify that there is a tremendous wealth in terms of cetaceans. Everyone knows that the Azores are an important area but almost nobody knows that the continent is also very important in terms of whales and dolphins,” said marine biologist Pedro Finamore, the project manager paid for by Galp who already has stated that he considers economic activities, including oil exploration, compatible with ‘the balance of the oceans.’

The initiative applied for support from the Blue Fund, which finances the economy of the sea through the government run Portugal 2020 programme.

The idea, explained Finamore,