| The Strait of Gibraltar connects two continents and two marine habitats, the Mediterranean with it’s higher salinity and therefore more dense water and the Atlantic Ocean with its lighter water. This causes the deep Mediterranean water masses to flow into the Atlantic, where high massifs of the ground topography of the Strait generate upwellings. This triggers the food chain and makes this spot unique worldwide.
Although this area is not officially catalogued as a “Whale Sanctuary” it should be considered as one. With ten registered species since 1998, the Strait of Gibraltar isn’t only a migration route but also the natural habitat of four resident species.
According to a recent study by the University of Seville .... 15 species of cetaceans - whales, dolphins and porpoises - are to be found in Andalusian waters.
Two of them, the Striped dolphin and the Harbour porpoise are officially considered in danger of extinction. The latter has disappeared from much of the Mediterranean and now found only in the Black Sea and in the Bay of Cádiz.
Common and Bottlenose dolphins live near the coast and also further out at sea. Sperm whales, Cuvier's Beaked whales, Risso's dolphins and Long-finned Pilot whales are found past the continental shelf, where they hunt for squid at depths of around 3,000m.
Orcas arrive from the Atlantic in search of tuna, their main prey in the area. Of the large filtering species, Fin whales are the most commonly seen, and indeed seem to be making a comeback in the region. Other great whales are present although rarely seen and they include Minke whales and even Humpback and Blue whales. |
