The Pelagos Sanctuary is the only pelagic marine protected area in the Mediterranean Sea, instituted for the conservation of cetaceans. Considering the number and size of commercial and touristic ports located along its coasts, this protected area is highly impacted by human activities, and especially marine traffic. Fin whales and sperm whales are regularly sighted in the Pelagos Sanctuary, and ship strikes with large vessels are one of the main threats affecting these two species. Mapping hotspots of distribution along main shipping lanes could be an effective conservation tool, as they directly allow locating high risk areas. In this work, we used data collected during summer from 2009 to 2019, along main marine traffic corridors in the central region of Pelagos Sanctuary. Ship strike hotspots have been identified, considering the persistence of distribution hotspots over the 11 years period. Hotspots occurrence has then been predicted over the entire Pelagos Sanctuary area applying Generalized Additive Models, allowing for ship strike risk assessment over the marine protected area. Our results highlighted the recurrence of important areas for both species along shipping lanes characterized by high vessel traffic, identifying regions where to address conservation measures.

Pelagos Sanctuary 是地中海唯一的远洋海洋保护区，旨在保护鲸类动物。考虑到沿海商业和旅游港口的数量和规模，该保护区受到人类活动，尤其是海上交通的严重影响。长须鲸和抹香鲸经常出现在 Pelagos Sanctuary，大型船只的船只撞击是影响这两个物种的主要威胁之一。绘制沿主要航道分布的热点可能是一种有效的保护工具，因为它们可以直接定位高风险区域。在这项工作中，我们使用了 2009 年至 2019 年夏季在 Pelagos Sanctuary 中部地区主要海上交通走廊沿线收集的数据。船舶撞击热点已经确定，考虑到分销热点在 11 年期间的持续存在。然后使用广义加法模型预测了整个 Pelagos Sanctuary 区域的热点发生，允许对海洋保护区进行船舶撞击风险评估。我们的研究结果强调了沿以高船舶交通为特征的航道的两个物种的重要区域的复发，确定了采取保护措施的区域。