PCRI, Greece
Voula Alexiadou is founding member and member of the board of the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute (Greece). She holds a diploma (MScEng) in mechanical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens.
She started to work scientifically with cetaceans in 1999. Since then, she participates to all the research activities of the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute in Greek and Cypriot waters, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. She is in charge of the coordination, organisation and implementation of the research expeditions, data recordings, scientific protocols and the quality assurance of the Institute’s activities. Her main research interest concerns the study of sperm whale bioacoustics and particularly their communication sounds, while she is also responsible for the maintenance and updates of the database of cetacean sightings and strandings in the Greek Seas. She runs educational activities raising public awareness on the conservation of the marine environment and cetaceans.
Voula Alexiadou has contributed to the establishment of seven large marine Natura2000 areas for cetaceans in Greece. She has authored or co-authored 13 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, one monography, and 14 papers in proceedings of conferences, workshops and technical reports.
Within the framework of the close collaboration between OceanCare and the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute since 2008, Voula Alexiadou has collaborated with OceanCare specialists on guidelines for the mitigation of oil and gas exploration impact on cetaceans and participated on the pioneering collaborative project «SAvE Whales».
Every year, approximately 9 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean – a deadly trap for millions of ocean inhabitants. Together we can stop the plastic wave and create a clean and healthy ocean.
The use of destructive fishing gear is one of the biggest threats to marine ecosystems. Together we can stop destructive fishing practises and protect the ocean and their inhabitants. The time to act is now.
Oil and gas exploration threatens marine ecosystems and life in the ocean. Together we can enforce a ban and protect our ocean. The time to act is now.
The deep sea is a unique habitat full of secrets and life. Resource extraction threatens to irreversibly destroy this treasure. Together, we can protect the deep sea. The time to act is now.