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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Africa

Africa

Mauritania

A desert coast with a huge UNESCO shallow bay, where monk seals, turtles and dolphins live.

Green turtle
Green turtle, found in the waters of the wider region · Photo: James Thornton on Unsplash
Story only

Story only, for now. We love learning about this place and its ocean, so we share its story here and do not sell trips yet. Checked by Ocean Calling on 6 Oct 2026. Sources: Banc d'Arguin National Park, IUCN World Heritage Outlook; Mauritania travel advice, UK FCDO (gov.uk); Mediterranean Monk Seal in Mauritania, Mammal Watching.

Why: Banc d'Arguin National Park protects about 12,000 square kilometres of seagrass, sandbanks and shallow sea, where four kinds of sea turtle, bottlenose and Atlantic humpback dolphins and millions of wintering shorebirds live. Near Cap Blanc, a protected reserve shelters the world's largest colony of Mediterranean monk seals, one of the rarest seals on Earth. Only the local Imraguen people may fish in the park, using traditional sailing boats, and we simply admire all of it from a respectful distance and never swim with, touch or feed any wild animal.

⚠️ Official travel advice is a separate question, and it differs by passport. EU citizens or US citizens may be advised against travelling there, so please check your own government’s website before you plan.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 5 Oct 2026. Some governments advise against travel to parts of Mauritania, and others ask travellers to reconsider travel to the country as a whole. Sources: Mauritania travel advice, UK FCDO · Mauritania travel advice, Government of Canada · Mauritania Travel Advice and Safety, Smartraveller (Australia) Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

TurtlesDolphins

Why Mauritania

Banc d'Arguin National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1989 and covers about 12,000 square km of the Mauritanian coast. Its shallow waters are home to green turtles, bottlenose dolphins and Atlantic humpback dolphins, and a colony of Mediterranean monk seals lives north of Nouadhibou, roughly 330 to 400 animals depending on the count. The Imraguen fishing people are the only ones allowed to live and fish in the park. Ocean Calling is only researching Mauritania for now.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

W. SaharaDem. Rep. CongoChadBrazilFranceSenegalMaliMauritaniaBeninNigerNigeriaCameroonTogoGhanaCôte d'IvoireGuineaGuinea-BissauLiberiaSierra LeoneBurkina FasoCentral African Rep.GambiaTunisiaAlgeriaGreeceSpainItalyMoroccoLibyaBanc d'Arguin National Park, MauritaniaNouadhibou and Cap Blanc, Mauritania

When to go

Timing changes a lot from place to place. See each place below.

We share this place as a story so you can learn. There is no Ocean Calling trip.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Story only

We tell the story. We do not sell a trip here.

Checked 6 Oct 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
The story

Where in Mauritania

We share these places as stories and research notes. We do not offer or sell trips here.

Banc d'Arguin National Park

Story only

A vast, shallow protected bay on the desert coast, with fishing villages and millions of birds.

Also seen: Green turtles and dolphins (documented in the park, never certain), Atlantic humpback dolphin (rare and shy)

Nouadhibou and Cap Blanc

Story only

A port town on the northern coast, close to one of the last groups of Mediterranean monk seals.

Also seen: Mediterranean monk seals (very rare, from land or a boat at a distance only)

Animals

Animals recorded in Mauritania

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Green turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernMediterranean monk seal head above blue water, whiskers visibleMediterranean monk sealMonachus monachusSeen in 9 countries in the AtlasVulnerableCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo Atlantic humpback dolphin dorsal fins at the surface of calm water in Guinea-BissauAtlantic humpback dolphinSousa teusziiSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableLoggerhead turtle at the surface feeding on Portuguese man o' warLoggerhead turtleCaretta carettaSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasVulnerablePod of common dolphins surfacing in calm blue seaCommon dolphinDelphinus delphisSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScarred Risso's dolphin spyhopping out of the waterRisso's dolphinGrampus griseusSeen in 56 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSei whale's tall dorsal fin breaking a calm sea surfaceSei whaleBalaenoptera borealisSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasEndangeredSilvertip shark swimming in open blue waterSilvertip sharkCarcharhinus albimarginatusSeen in 28 countries in the AtlasVulnerableHeavily spotted adult Atlantic spotted dolphin with young, AzoresAtlantic spotted dolphinStenella frontalisSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo rough-toothed dolphins leaping together, blotchy grey skin visibleRough-toothed dolphinSteno bredanensisSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernOceanic whitetip shark with pilot fish in sunlit Red Sea waterOceanic whitetip sharkCarcharhinus longimanusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredNurse shark swimming over a reef at Fernando de Noronha, BrazilAtlantic nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerableHarbour porpoise rolling at the surface off Berry Head, DevonHarbour porpoisePhocoena phocoenaSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernShortfin mako shark at Condor Bank in the North Atlantic, AzoresShortfin makoIsurus oxyrinchusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasEndangeredBlackchin guitarfish lying on pale sand beside rocks, with a shark-like tail and two tall dorsal finsBlackchin guitarfishGlaucostegus cemiculusSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredSpiny dogfish resting on the seabed at the Josephine Marie shipwreck, Stellwagen Bank National Marine SanctuarySpiny dogfishSqualus acanthiasSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasVulnerableDusky grouper underwater at Cabo de Palos, SpainDusky grouperEpinephelus marginatusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerableMilk sharkRhizoprionodon acutusSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAtlantic weasel sharkParagaleus pectoralisSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasEndangeredGreat cormorant perched on a branch, with white head plumes and a glossy blue-black backGreat cormorantPhalacrocorax carboSeen in 90 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHuge flock of sooty shearwaters flying low over the sea beside a rocky coastSooty shearwaterArdenna griseaSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedWilson's storm-petrel resting on calm water with its wings raised above its backWilson's storm-petrelOceanites oceanicusSeen in 41 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClose view of a northern gannet face, with pale blue eyes and a golden headNorthern gannetMorus bassanusSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScopoli's shearwater skimming just above calm blue waterScopoli's shearwaterCalonectris diomedeaSeen in 37 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernReed cormorant perched on a low stump among tall reedsReed cormorant (long-tailed cormorant)Microcarbo africanusSeen in 27 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAfrican darter with wings spread low over the water, droplets flyingAfrican darterAnhinga rufaSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSpiny butterfly ray resting on a sandy seabed among seagrassSpiny butterfly rayGymnura altavelaSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasEndangeredLeafscale gulper sharkCentrophorus squamosusSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasEndangered
Curious?

Why this is a story, not a trip

Read our ethics check above. If you would like to talk about it, Rocío is happy to explain.

Ask RocíoBack to the Ocean Atlas

Also in Africa
AngolaBeninCabo VerdeCameroonCôte d'IvoireDemocratic Republic of the CongoEquatorial GuineaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauKenyaLiberiaMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaRepublic of the CongoSaint HelenaSão Tomé and PríncipeSenegalSierra LeoneSouth AfricaTanzaniaTogoWestern Sahara

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