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BLUE INNOVATIONS | 87

© Rémi Demarthon

During the digital press conference at Monaco Ocean
Week, the mission’s scientific director, Hervé Glotin,
presented one of the major results, from a recording IN
on 14 January 2020 off the coast of Monaco, within
the Pelagos sanctuary: “This listening system does FIGURES
not disturb the animals, so we were able to recreate
3D journeys of a pod of sperm whales in the depths of
the ocean. We discovered that these large sounders
have developed a group hunting strategy using their The two Sphyrna laboratories designed by Sea Proven
acoustic expertise, which I call super-sonar”. Keeping ■ Length: 17 and 22 metres
a distance of 500 metres between them, the pod
members dive in a coordinated fashion to a depth of ■ 3 types of renewable energy: solar, wind, tidal
1,700 metres in the vortex formed by the ocean cur-
rents around the underwater mountain Méjan. ■ 100 times cheaper than a traditional vessel
■ 50 scientific protocols and up to 1 tonne of equipment
on board

■ Fitted with 5 hydrophones under their hull, they are
able to listen to large cetaceans to a depth of 2,000
metres and a radius of 6 kilometres