Springer Sailing Across a Wounded Sea

The capacity of humans to destroy their environment is playing out like a Greek tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea. After having coexisted with a diversity of marine animals throughout their history, humans have broken the balance in recent decades, and the survival of countless marine creatures is now increasingly uncertain. However, unlike in classical tragedies, real-life entities are not necessarily doomed by their fate, and there must be hope to turn the tide in nature’s favour. Lack of concrete conservation action might be simply due to a lack of awareness: how can we feel sad about a loss if we don’t know what we are losing? “Sailing Across a Wounded Sea” is the story of an ideal journey around the Mediterranean to meet its non-human inhabitants, consisting of real episodes collected over half a century as the author observed real animals, exchanged views with a variety of contacts, and argued for such views in the policy arena. Encountering whales, dolphins,seals and rays in their habitat and on their terms will hopefully contribute to building up in readers a collective commitment to help secure a future for these species. A future where they are allowed to flourish as they were meant to - had humans never trod so heavily on the sea’s delicate ecological balance and the interwoven natural processes. Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara has been involved for a lifetime in protecting marine biodiversity in various capacities – as a scientist, civil servant, advocate and sailor. Having studied in California and worked with whales, dolphins and sharks worldwide, he returned to the Mediterranean in 1985, keen on using his acquired tools to discover more about the ancient sea's natural history. Here, he described small but vibrant populations of fin and sperm whales, along with various species of dolphins, manta rays and the monk seal. At the same time, seeing the Mediterranean’s progressive degradation at the hands of humans, he felt a surge of rebellion against this squandering of natural values, and wished to raise awareness of the existence of these marine natural treasures and the risk of losing them. “Drawing from decades of first-hand experiences, in ‘Sailing Across a Wounded Sea’ Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara offers a compelling narrative that interweaves the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea’s non-human inhabitants with the challengesthey face due to human activity. As he reflects on his journey, the author underscores the imperative for collective action and the need for heightened awareness and proactive conservation measures to protect our oceans. ‘Sailing Across a Wounded Sea’ serves not only as a captivating voyage but also as a sobering call to responsibility. Join Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara on this insightful expedition and discover the profound significance of preserving our marine ecosystems for future generations.” ―Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean “The Mediterranean, the cradle of civilisation, is a sea steeped in history. From Apollon and Artemis to Pythagoras and Hercules, names in this book summon up images of civilisations past and lost. The greatest Greek philosopher of them all, Aristotle, is also regarded as the father of marine biodiversity, stemming from his research conducted on Lesbos Island. And yet this ancient world, familiar to so many, is under threat. In this book Notarbartolo di Sciara takes us on a modern-day odyssey through these waters, based on over 50 years of personal observations. He reminds us of the impact of the progressive footprint of human action and endeavour, which has spread out across the whole sea, changing, and depleting its beauty and splendour. His voyage paints a picture not just of what is at stake but also of the potential the future can hold if we all work together to give nature a breathing space, to allow it to restore and recover. In our modern world, where we have become more disconnected than ever from our surroundings, this book is a rallying call to remind us that all our futures are intricately interwoven with nature, and that we damage that at our peril.” ―Professor Dan Laffoley, Emeritus marine Vice Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas “Who doesn’t love a travelogue? The serendipitous nature of a journey, places and characters along the way, shared insights and a joyous homecoming. A key difference with Sailing Across a Wounded Sea is that encounters are all with marine creatures and their places in the natural world. Set in the Mediterranean, Notarbartolo di Sciara draws upon experiences from a life-long love of the sea to take us with him: cataloguing pressures and stresses on different communities of animals he knows well. Explaining all is not as it should be. Revealing that we have been unaware of impacts, or in denial, or asleep at the wheel. Personal yet profound his consistent message is that we have taken too much and respected too little. Too much food, too much spac