After involving volunteers in the Maltese cetacean research project launched in 1996, Dr. Vella founded BICREF in 1998 to promote conservation research and awareness for effective action. BICREF is conducting research into biodiversity and the impacts of fishing/aquaculture in the Mediterranean around Malta. The Cetacean Conservation Research Project has already produced scientific results presented at local and international conferences. The increasing knowledge provided by valuable scientific data may pave the way to more accurate local awareness and conservation management of legally protected species/habitats, such as dolphins and the sea life that sustains them.
