Strengthening Regional NGO Cooperation for Humpback Whale Conservation through the MYSTRAL Project
Regional cooperation is at the heart of the MYSTRAL scientific programme (2025–2027), coordinated by Globice Réunion and funded by the European Union through the INTERREG VI Indian Ocean programme. In April, partner NGOs from across the southwestern Indian Ocean gathered in Réunion Island for a technical coordination meeting bringing together : Cétamada, Attitude, Ceta’Maore, Watamu Marine Association, MAR Expeditions and GLOBICE-Reunion.
The meeting provided an opportunity to strengthen collaboration between organisations working together to improve knowledge of humpback whale migrations across the region. The project supports local field work to increase photo-identification across the region. The photo-identification data collect will be shared globally via the HappyWhale platform to assess levels of exchange between breeding sites and populations as part of IndoCet.
The project also provides support for the deployment of hydrophones and the meeting was an opportunity to provide training on acoustic analysis to the partners. With the start of the 2026 whale season, hydrophones have been deployed in Réunion, Kenya, Mauritius, Madagascar and Mozambique. This collaborative recording effort will allow continuation of the multiple-year recording effort for the analysis of regional humpback whale song and improve our understanding of song diffusion and population connectivity. Here is a video of the deployment in Mauritius, by the Marine Discovery Center.Beyond the scientific outcomes, MYSTRAL demonstrates the value of regional cooperation by strengthening the capacities of local research organisations, promoting the sharing of expertise and building of long-term collaborative partnerships as part of the IndoCet network.
To further showcase this collaboration, Globice has launched The Waves of MYSTRAL, a podcast series featuring scientists and conservation practitioners from across the partner organisations. The first episode explores how regional cooperation and complementary scientific approaches are helping reveal the connectivity between humpback whale populations throughout the Indian Ocean. You can listen to it here .
The MYSTRAL programme is funded by the European Union through the INTERREG VI Indian Ocean programme, managed by the Région Réunion.
Contributor: Jean-Marc Gancille, Julie Martin
