The SyngCo 2026 international conference will bring together leading scientists specialising in marine biology and syngatid conservation on the island.
The event, supported by the Loro Parque Foundation and the ULPGC, will be opened by the Rector of the ULPGC, Lluís Serra, and the Marine Scientific Director of the Loro Parque Foundation, Martin Böye.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will become the global epicentre of marine biology this week with the celebration of SyngCo 2026, the International Congress for the Conservation of Syngnathids. This high-level scientific meeting will bring together some thirty international experts with the aim of coordinating urgent actions for the protection of species that are as emblematic as they are vulnerable: seahorses, sea dragons and pipefish.
The congress, which will take place between tomorrow, Thursday 19 February, and Friday 20 February, at the Poema del Mar Aquarium and the Marine-Maritime Innovation Centre, comes at a critical time for ocean biodiversity. Due to their unique biology and the degradation of their coastal habitats, syngnathids face growing threats such as climate change, accidental fishing and illegal trade.
A strategic alliance for the ocean
SyngCo 2026 is the result of close collaboration between the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), through the ECOAQUA University Institute, and the Loro Parque Foundation. For the ULPGC, this event reinforces its position as an international benchmark in marine research and natural resource management. For its part, the support of the Loro Parque Foundation underlines the institution's commitment to funding projects that have a real impact on the survival of endangered species.
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Image by Felipe Ravina showing a specimen of a seahorse.
The official opening of the conference, tomorrow, Thursday 19th February, will be led by the Rector of the ULPGC, Lluís Serra, and Martin Böye, recently appointed Marine Scientific Director of the Loro Parque Foundation, who brings extensive international experience in the management of marine ecosystem conservation and protection programmes. They will be accompanied by Ángel Curros, Director of Biology at Poema del Mar Aquarium, and José Juan Castro, researcher at ECOAQUA's Biodiversity and Conservation (BIOCON) group, Professor of Zoology and Director of the Biology Department at the ULPGC.
Objectives and scientific programme
Throughout the sessions, cutting-edge topics will be addressed, such as the application of genomic tools for taxonomy, updating the status of global populations on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the latest advances in aquaculture for reintroduction purposes, among other issues of international importance.
The speakers include internationally renowned figures whose work is fundamental to understanding the health of our oceans, such as Nuno Monteiro, who will give a presentation entitled “Review of the Global Status of Syngnathids/EUROSYNG Project”, Gisela Dionísio, with “Role of Citizen Science in Syngathids Population Assessment”, and Michele Gristina, with “Conservation Programmes for Syngnathids”. They will be the protagonists of three of the four plenary sessions of the conference, which will feature a fourth session led by Ángel Curros entitled “Syngnathids in aquaria and recovery plans”.
The conference stands out for its practical approach, so that, over the course of its two days, in addition to the aforementioned plenary sessions, there will be workshops, oral scientific presentations and scientific posters in which some thirty researchers from around the world will participate.
‘This conference is not just an academic meeting; it is a strategic working group where the guidelines for the recovery of these species at a global level will be decided,’ says José Juan Castro, president of the event's organising committee and professor at the ULPGC.
About the organisers
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) is a leading institution in marine sciences, recognised for its excellence in research. The Loro Parque Foundation is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of species and their habitats through education, research and direct protection.
Further information:
Conference programme:
https://www.syngco.org/ programme/
