Hello!

My name is Nicolas, I am from France and currently live on the coast of the Basque country, in a little town called Ustaritz. The ocean has always been important and dear to me as I have spent most of my childhood travelling and living in different countries, but always on the coast. As the years have gone by, I became more and more in contact with the ocean whether it be through sports such as surfing or swimming, through various associations in which I am involved, or even simply by growing interest and passion.

The sea has always fascinated me and since as far as I can remember I had always somewhere in the corner of my head the desire to work on something marine-related. I became a lifeguard by integrating the SNSM of Bayonne and between that and following the work of various marine biologists such as Ocean Ramsay, I decide to follow this passion and set foot in marine studies. Working in these different associations as well as gaining more and more knowledge through my studies, I have realized how much the environment is impacted by us daily and how important it is for us to prevent as much as possible the negative effects. But also, I have always been intrigued by how marine species live, evolve, and how they adapt (or sometimes not, unfortunately) to our actions.

Today, I am finishing my third year of marine biology. Even though my goal is to study sharks, I am also fascinated by dolphins as well as whales, and when I heard about the possibility to apply as an intern at Delfini del Ponente APS, I did not hesitate for a second. It has only been 3 days and we have already seen striped and bottlenose dolphins, turtles, and various marine bird species including puffins, and gained a big amount of knowledge through the fieldwork as well as the different lectures done by David and Elena so far! By interning here, I aim to develop my marine mammal research as well as learn many new skills such as photo identification, conducting surveys as well as developing my behavioural knowledge on different marine species.

I can’t wait to see what the Ligurian sea still has to offer as well as gain more valuable knowledge on the different species of this area and the Mediterranean Sea!

Nicolas Subsol