The ECOAQUA institute of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with the collaboration of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the Biosphere Reserve, has unveiled the project 'AMPLÍA' Wednesday, January 31, at 17:30 pm, at the Civic Center El Fondeadero in Puerto del Carmen.
The researcher José Juan Castro, member of the BIOCON group of the ECOAQUA institute and director of the Biology Department of the ULPGC, in charge of the project, introduced to the fishing and diving sector of the island why this project, 'AMPLÍA', which seeks to organize the public management of marine areas, identify new areas of protection and update the biological, ecological and productive information on fishery resources that currently exist.
The Councilor for Fisheries and the Biosphere Reserve of Lanzarote, Samuel Martin, explained that "this meeting with the fishermen's guilds, diving centers and centers of underwater activities on the island will be a first contact between the sector and the research team of 'AMPLÍA' who will report on the update of information on the fishery resources of the islands, as well as the species of greatest interest, biomass, the different breeding areas, catch sizes, among other topics".
The project, which is financed by European funds from the Next Generation program, will also analyze socio-economic and fisheries data in order to propose the best management strategies for the future, taking into account the context of climate change in which we find ourselves.
The fundamental objective of this document will be to reach a participatory co-management of marine ecosystems and resources with the involvement of the social sectors and to advance towards a sustainable activity by the fishing fleet (professional and recreational), sized to the productive capacity of the islands' marine areas.
The project will have two other presentations. The first one will take place on February 22nd in person and online at the Undergraduate Hall of the Basic Sciences Building of the ULPGC, with the collaboration of the Biosphere Reserve of Gran Canaria, and the second one, to be held in Fuerteventura, whose date is yet to be defined, will also count with the collaboration of the Biosphere Reserve of the island.