PLOCAN will coordinate the European INTERTAGUA project to research, develop and test sensors based on low-cost IoT and LoRaWAN to monitor the movements of megafauna most vulnerable to human activities in each region: sharks and cetaceans in the Azores archipelago; cetaceans, birds and monk seals in the Madeira archipelago; birds and cetaceans in the Canary Islands archipelago and turtles in Cape Verde.
The aim is to promote the sustainable development of ocean monitoring and observation activities and, in particular, of sensor-based tagging and tracking technologies. Furthermore, the project will develop interactive technologies to encourage conscious, voluntary, and informed citizen participation in scientific activities related to the blue economy.
On 20 March, a meeting was held to launch the Interactive Aquatic Interfaces Project for the Detection and Visualisation of Atlantic Marine Megafauna and Vessels in Macaronesia using Radio Tags (INTERTAGUA), financed by the Interreg VA Spain – Portugal Territorial Cooperation Programme. The meeting was held remotely, following the recommendations of the various national and international health authorities.
This virtual event was attended by representatives of PLOCAN, the Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs of the Azores, the Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation (ARDITI) and the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation of Madeira (IFCN), and Project Biodiversity (BIOSAL) of Cape Verde. After an intense morning of work, they decided on the role that each of them will play in the project and the future challenges that lie ahead.