“Why, as a scientist, embark on the Uzivaj expedition?
I am a marine biologist – a scientist, then – but I have always, in my professional practice, lent great importance to a multidisciplinary field approach. My work, within the framework of a large-scale project on the Mediterranean (the MedJuv project), was focused on “baby fish” and the habitats that are essential to them: the nurseries present in shallow waters. So, when Nathalie and Maïté spoke to me about the Uzivaj expedition, I hit the ceiling: a sailboat exploring a multitude of sites along the Adriatic Coast? This was the dream situation, offering an original approach for my sampling strategy! Beyond the practical aspect, this expedition offered me a human aspect, just as indispensable to my work: to study the “little creatures” is fascinating, but to make the connection with others who use the coastline, to confront my “ecologist’s” point of view with other human practices, this was a necessary task for future adapted management of the coastline. The data gathered over the course of the Uzivaj expedition in Croatia will be added to findings resulting from other campaigns undertaken in 2016 (Turkey, Balearics, Catalonia) and those to come in other regions. They will further our understanding of fish nurseries from a cross-section of the Mediterranean. The multidisciplinary approach is a unique added value found in the spirit of expeditions organised by Expé2M.”
