February 1, 2025 – In Taranto, Italy, cetaceans such as dolphins face many threats. It is home to the Italian Navy’s largest military base and a NATO I command center, a commercial port that is still expanding, Italy’s first offshore wind power plant inaugurated in 2022, and a large refinery built by the energy company Eni Group. Studies have shown that underwater noise pollution from these activities interferes with cetaceans such as dolphins’ use of sound for basic behaviors such as communicating with each other, recognizing their environment and finding food. In addition, while the impact on dolphins of Europe’s largest steel plant, Riva Steel, is not entirely clear, there is a high likelihood that pollution from the coast will have an impact on the marine environment and its inhabitants.
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