In the Gulf of Taranto, a project destined to mark a turning point in the protection of cetaceans is taking shape: the San Paolo Dolphin Refuge, defined the first “hospital for dolphins” of the Mediterranean. It is an innovative structure that extends for 7 hectares on the island of San Paolo and which will be completed by the end of 2025, ready to welcome the first specimens already in spring 2026.
The refuge was created to offer a new life to dolphins from aquariums and dolphinaries, structures increasingly subject to closure following the new European regulations. In fact, many animals cannot be reintroduced directly in the open sea after years of captivity: for them the Dolphin Refuge represents an intermediate, natural but controlled environment, where to recover spontaneous behaviors and live in conditions of greater well -being.
The creator of the project is Carmelo Fanizza, founder of the Jonian Dolphin Conservation (JDC), a reality born in Taranto in 2009 and engaged in the research and protection of cetaceans. Fanizza imagined this center already in 2018, anticipating European legislative changes. The goal is not to fight aquariums, but to propose a concrete solution to a real problem, putting animals in the center.
An avant -garde structure
The heart of the refuge is a main tank of 1,600 square meters, up to 8 meters deep, equipped with monitoring buoys and a hydrophon system capable of recording underwater noise levels in real time. There are also a veterinary tank, areas for the preparation of food and spaces dedicated to staff. The Control Room is located at Palazzo Amati, in the historic center of Taranto, where the Kètos center, headquarters of the JDC is also located.
The San Paolo Dolphin Refuge will not only be a place of welcome, but also a research and dissemination center. Educational activities, such as the “Researchers for a Day” project, will involve schools and tourists, transforming the experience into an environmental awareness occasion. With over 80 scientific publications to the assets, JDC confirms its role of international reference in the study of cetaceans.
The Tarantino refuge is designed as a model to be replicated in other countries, on the example of the first center open in Bali. The hope is that it becomes a lighthouse for marine conservation, showing that a different future for dolphins is really possible.
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