on behalf of the European Maritime Safety Agency EMSA, was tested during a preliminary survey in an area within the Pelagos Sanctuary. Ionian Dolphin Project Another long-term project is the Ionian Dolphin Project (IDP) that has been running since 1991 focusing on the conservation of marine mammals in Ionian Greece. The IDP was first conducted from a research vessel (1991-1994), then based on the island of Ithaca (1995), and subsequently transferred to the island of Kalamos (1996-2008). The project field base is currently located in Vonitsa (2006 – present), on the southern shore of the Ambracian Gulf. The IDP is dedicated to the study and conservation of three target species, common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), and Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus). The aim of the project is to produce estimates of the populations’ abundance, to investigate species distribution and habitat preferences, and to study the species’ behavioural ecology and their interaction with fisheries. Since the early years, the project has also expanded its geographic coverage and nowadays the research is concentrated in three Natura 2000 study areas of Western Greece: the Gulf of Ambracia, the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago and the Paxos and Antipaxos Islands and surrounding waters. In the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago site (Natura 2000 code GR2220003) common dolphins dramatically declined between 1995 and 2007, which has been convincingly linked to overfishing, although impact resulting from an ever-increasing nautical tourism should not be ruled out. In the same area, bottlenose dolphins are found in relatively small numbers, even if they seem to have stable trends. Of about 120 individuals photo-identified, approximately one quarter have shown high levels of site fidelity. The Ionian Sea is one of the few areas of the Mediterranean Sea where the monk seal can still be predictably encountered, suggesting that the area is part of the species’ core habitat. The IDP has gathered strong evidence that some distinctive areas provide key monk seal breeding habitats that appear to be of great importance for the conservation of the species on a Mediterranean scale. The main threats faced by this endangered species in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago derive, to a large extent, from disturbance by boat-based tourism, and possibly also from negative interactions with fishing activities. The IDP monk seal photo-identification catalogue is updated on a yearly basis and is available online. On-going monk seal research incorporates new technologies, namely UAVs