Thirteen researchers from various groups will deliver these informative talks on Friday 22 May, and Saturday 23 May at the Muelle Sanapú in the capital of Gran Canaria, as part of the 15th edition of this leading trade fair in the Canary Islands for the nautical and maritime sector. The institute will also have a stand where it will bring ECOAQUA’s scientific activities closer to the public.
In this way, the university institute is doubling the number of talks offered compared to the previous edition
The ECOAQUA University Institute, part of University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), is once again playing a key role in one of the most important events in the Canary Islands relating to the sea, the FIMAR 2026 International Sea Fair, which will take place from Friday 22 May and Sunday 24 May, at the Sanapú quay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, near the Poema del Mar aquarium and the Onda Atlántica walkway. To this end, in addition to its now traditional stand, the university will offer, through its researchers, 13 of the 26 free public talks scheduled as part of the 15th edition of this major event – a figure that is almost double the number given last year, when it delivered a total of seven.
FIMAR 2026, the leading regional event for the nautical and maritime sector across the Canary Islands, promoted by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council and the Port Authority of Las Palmas, and organised by Infecar Feria de Gran Canaria and Ciudad de Mar under the theme ‘Outermost Regions and the Sea’, will feature eight informative talks on its opening day, delivered by researchers from ECOAQUA, introducing the attending public, in an engaging and educational manner, to some of the key aspects of the various scientific projects the university institute is developing in different fields.
FIMAR 2026 poster.
The first of these talks will take place on Friday 22 May, from 11.30 am to 11.45 am, and will be entitled ‘Lost plastic: where is the rubbish we throw into the sea?’. In it, researcher Álvaro Nicolás Cubas Viera, from the Physical Oceanography and Applied Geophysics Research Group (OFYGA), starts from the following premise: “If we compare the amount of plastic reaching the sea with what we observe, a paradox emerges: we do not know where most of the ocean plastic is. This is due both to the great diversity of shapes, sizes and compositions of marine litter, and to the numerous processes that control its transport and accumulation,” says Cubas. This talk will explore what is known about some of these processes, such as ocean eddies or large-scale circulation, and how they determine the fate of the litter we produce.
Between 12.30 and 12.45 pm, Ana Espino Ruano from the Biodiversity and Conservation Group (BIOCON) will give a talk entitled ‘Fishing with science: a study of the minimum sizes of key species in Canarian waters’.
The researcher summarises it as follows: “The project ‘Study of the size at first maturity of various fish species in the Canary Islands’ examines the reproduction of dogfish, grouper and sea bream in the Canary Islands with a view to improving their management and conservation. Over a period of 18 months, and in collaboration with the fishing industry, specimens will be analysed to establish minimum catch sizes and propose measures to protect spawners and promote more sustainable fishing.”
Genetics, sustainable fishing and the challenges of aquaculture
Next, between 1.00 pm and 1.15 pm, it will be the turn of ‘The JANTO Project: genetic assessment, captive breeding and population reinforcement of seahorses in the Canary Islands’. In this case, the talk will be given by David Jiménez Alvarado, also from BIOCON.
In it, he will discuss the JANTO project, which aims to protect and restore seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) populations in the Canary Islands through genetic assessment, captive breeding and various pilot reintroduction initiatives in the wild. Furthermore, he will evaluate the survival of released individuals and encourage the participation of divers, fishermen and the general public in their conservation.
Researcher David Jiménez Alvarado.
The same ECOAQUA (BIOCON) research group will be responsible for the next public lecture. It will take place between 1.30 pm and 1.45 pm and will be delivered by Tomás Bañeras Bosch under the title: ‘ILUMINA Project: Innovation in small-scale fishing using lights to reduce unwanted catches’.
During the talk, the researcher will outline some key aspects of the ILUMINA project, a scientific initiative that aims to increase the sustainability of small-scale fishing in the Canary Islands through the use of coloured LED lights on traditional fishing nets known as ‘cazonal’. The aim is to reduce the accidental catch of sharks and rays without affecting species of commercial interest. To this end, scientific research will be combined with direct collaboration with fishermen, with the aim of improving the selectivity of fishing gear and contributing to the conservation of marine biodiversity.
In the afternoon session, researcher Gercende Courtois de Viçose, from the Aquaculture Research Group (GIA), will give a talk entitled ‘Invertebrates: the challenge of producing them for food and balanced ecosystems’ between 4.00 pm and 4.15 pm.
“The talk,” says the researcher, “highlights the importance of producing marine invertebrates such as sea cucumbers, both as a food source and for their ecosystem services in ‘bioremediating’ seabed sediments. It explains the main bottleneck: high larval mortality in hatcheries. Based on a recent study with Holothuria arguinensis, it demonstrates how a mixed diet of two microalgae significantly improves survival, accelerates development and enables the efficient production of juveniles, bringing us closer to a more sustainable sea cucumber aquaculture in Europe.”
Researcher Gercende Courtois de Viçose.
Between 5.00 pm and 5.15 pm, María Lorena Couce Montero, from BIOCON, will give a talk entitled ‘The GRANDES Project: when it comes to fish, size does matter’.
In the researcher’s own words, “the GRANDES project seeks to understand how fishing activity is affecting different species and what consequences this may have on their growth, reproduction and ability to adapt to change. To this end, biological studies are combined with genetic tools that enable us to identify changes in populations and detect whether fishing pressure is influencing characteristics key to the species’ survival. In addition, current data is compared with historical information to understand how populations have changed over time. With all this information, the project aims to provide a scientific basis for developing more sustainable fishing strategies, which will help to conserve both fishery resources and the balance of marine ecosystems”.
Researcher María Lorena Couce Montero.
Aquaculture will once again take centre stage between 6.30 pm and 6.45 pm with ‘ACUICONECTA: Study of ocean acidification in sea bream larvae’, a talk to be given by Cecilia María Pérez Hernández, from the GIA.
According to the researcher, the talk will address “one of the major environmental challenges of our time: ocean acidification and its effects on fish”. Through an “accessible and informative” explanation, she will demonstrate “how the rise in CO? in the ocean, linked to climate change, can affect the development and health of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) larvae during their early growth stages, a key species for aquaculture”. The public lecture forms part of the European ACUICONECTA project, an initiative that promotes more sustainable, resilient and innovative aquaculture through cooperation between Macaronesian regions and African countries, whilst also bringing marine science closer to the public and highlighting the importance of research in the face of climate change.
The event will also showcase the research carried out at ECOAQUA’s aquaculture facilities, where aspects such as bone formation, digestive system development and gill structure are being analysed in larvae exposed to the acidification conditions predicted for the end of the century.
The GIA, through Gabriela Duque Llerandi, will also present ‘European M4S Project: From field to sea, soya in the diet of farmed fish’. This will take place between 7.00 pm and 7.15 pm
The researcher summarises the talk as follows: “Did you know that fish also have an ‘invisible ecosystem’ that influences their health? M4S is a European project exploring the fascinating world of the microbiome in aquaculture: a community of microorganisms living around and within living beings that is key to their well-being. In this research, we are following two lines of inquiry: on the one hand, the microbiome surrounding the roots of soya, and on the other, how this plant, as part of the diet, affects the ‘microscopic world’ of the sea bass’s gut.
To find out, the fish are fed different types of soya and the effect is compared with a soya variety specially selected for the project. The aim: to understand how to improve the health of the fish… starting with what cannot be seen!”.
Day Two
Saturday, 23 May, will feature a further five informative talks open to all members of the public.
Between 11.15am and 11.30am, Lujan Barandiaran, from the Marine Systems Ecophysiology and Physics (EOMAR) group, will give a talk entitled ‘What exactly are Portuguese man-of-wars?’
According to the scientist, “in this talk we will discover what Portuguese man-of-wars (Physalia physalis) really are – fascinating and complex organisms that are often mistaken for jellyfish. We will explain their main parts, the basics of their biology and ecology, their presence in the Canary Islands, and how they live and behave in the ocean. We will also discuss the work we carry out with them, including their maintenance in captivity, laboratory analyses and boat trips to observe them in their natural habitat. All this with the aim of better understanding their origin, behaviour and impact on our coastal ecosystems”.
Following this, between 11.45 am and 12.00 pm, Mélisande Payet, an Erasmus+ student from the University of Toulon (France) who, since January this year, has been working with BIOCON researcher Inma Herrera on her placement and final Master’s thesis in Marine Sciences regarding the study of zooplankton as a bioindicator in Canarian waters, will give a talk entitled ‘What we cannot see… but is being altered’.
Herrera and Payet introduce this informative talk as follows: “Right before your eyes, a drifting community known as zooplankton goes about its business quietly, carried by the waves and currents. These tiny organisms form the basis of all marine life: they feed small fish, which in turn feed larger predators, right up to whales. Without them, the ocean as we know it would not exist.
As part of the IMPLACOST project, “we are exploring this hidden world off the coast of Gran Canaria. We are studying which organisms live on the surface, how they interact and what their role is in this fragile ecosystem. But today, this balance is under threat: more intense storms and the intrusion of Saharan dust are disrupting these invisible communities, with potential consequences for the environmental health of our seas, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below water”, they state.
Giovanny Alejandro Cuervo Londoño, from OFYGA, will give a talk entitled ‘Predicting the ocean with AI’ between 12.15 and 12.30 pm. In this talk, the researcher invites us “on a journey into the future where artificial intelligence helps us to better understand and predict the behaviour of the ocean. We will see how these new technologies are already changing the way we forecast the weather and sea conditions, and how we are applying them to study key phenomena in the Canary Islands region, such as coastal upwelling. All this with the aim of better preparing ourselves for the challenges of climate change".
Researcher Giovanny Alejandro Cuervo Londoño.
Between 3.30 pm and 3.45 pm, Josef Thomas Greenhalgh, from EOMAR, will give a talk entitled ‘Six years of microplastics at Las Canteras: small, but ubiquitous’.
In this talk, Greenhalgh will outline the work carried out over the last six years by researchers at the ULPGC monitoring the presence of microplastics on Las Canteras beach as part of a long-term environmental monitoring project.
“He explains that the presentation will cover how microplastics are studied on beaches, the different types of particles typically found in samples, and some of the challenges involved in interpreting the abundance of microplastics in coastal environments. The presentation will also place Las Canteras in a broader context, comparing the presence of microplastics with that observed on beaches in other parts of the world.”
Using examples gathered during the monitoring programme, the talk will offer “a practical insight into how scientists study microplastics in marine environments and what long-term observation can—and cannot—tell us about these systems”.
BIOCON researchers Jesús Padrón García, Candy Cecilia Ruano and Yaiza Fernández Palacios will be leading the final talk in the ECOAQUA series at FIMAR 2026. It will take place between 4.00 pm and 4.30 pm under the title ‘Large marine species: getting to know them, enjoying them, caring for them’.
The three researchers are presenting this “dynamic and interactive” talk, aimed at the general public, as part of the Marine SABRES and ECOMARIS projects. This is how they introduce it: “The Canary Islands are home to a wealth of marine species, including cetaceans, turtles and large fish that use migratory routes to reach our waters. This ecological connectivity helps explain the enormous natural value of our marine environment and its appeal for activities such as cetacean and bird watching, or recreational diving, which are important for tourism and the Canary Islands’ economy. Their conservation depends on the responsible development of these activities and also on our everyday habits”.
Stand and scientific posters
Furthermore, as in previous years, the ECOAQUA university institute will have its own stand at FIMAR 2026, featuring a number of tables showcasing activities and experiments carried out by its research groups, where visitors will be able to see first-hand some of the scientific findings produced by ECOAQUA.
In addition, this space will feature an exhibition of several posters on scientific projects carried out by the university institute, as well as other informative materials describing some of the initiatives undertaken by the various research teams within ECOAQUA’s five groups.
EOMAR will therefore be presenting a poster entitled ‘The Physalia Project: Physical Foundations of Biological Sailing. PHYSALIA (PID2023-147159NB-C33)’, authored by Lujan Barandiaran, Sheila Rodríguez, Josef Greenhalgh, Ico Martínez, Álvaro Torres-Gómez, Alicia Herrera, Jorge Cabrera, Antonio Domínguez and May Gómez, as principal investigator; it will also present the poster entitled ‘Coupling II’, coordinated by Borja Aguiar González, which details a mission to Antarctica to measure various physical, chemical and biological properties of the ocean using oceanographic instrumentation and autonomous marine robots, with the aim of determining how ocean circulation patterns control phytoplankton blooms; ‘Production or consumption? The potential annual respiratory variability of the epibiont community in the coastal waters of El Hierro’ will be another of the scientific posters, in this case from the ECOS Project – led by the CSIC in Barcelona – in which EOMAR participates, with researchers such as Ico Martínez, Sofía Huelbes, May Gómez, Emilio Soler Onís and Ted Packard.
Two of the informative scientific posters to be displayed.
‘The ASTRESS Project: Assessment of anthropogenic multi-stressors’, coordinated by Alicia Herrera and featuring the participation of researchers Sofía Huelbes, Ico Martínez and May Gómez, will be another of the posters presented by EOMAR, which will also showcase two others on ‘The problem of microplastics in the Canary Islands’ and ‘Microplastic pollution in the Canary Islands’, also by Alicia Herrera, M. Asensio, Ico Martínez, Ted Packard and May Gómez.
In addition, informative roll-ups will be displayed on projects such as IMPLAMAC-Capitalisation, a project for which May Gómez is the principal investigator. This is a communication tool that will also be used by the GIA, with a roll-up dedicated to the abalone entitled ‘Abalone. The jewel of the sea. A mollusc with many uses’, a species on which a leaflet has also been produced, and OFYGA for some of its projects. The Tourism, Land Use Planning and Environment (TOTMA) research group, for its part, will offer a leaflet entitled ‘I have rights too!’, which calls on the public to help protect the rights of nature and explains the work of this group led by Inmaculada González Cabrera, whose research has involved participation in over 70 projects, resulting in more than 300 scientific publications.
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