The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) took part in a technical meeting organised by the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), aimed at advancing the management, monitoring and conservation of cetaceans in the Canary Islands, particularly within the Teno-Rasca Marine Strip Special Area of Conservation (SAC), in Tenerife.
The meeting provided an opportunity to showcase the potential of the services already developed by PLOCAN under the Servicios IA project in this field, including tools for the identification of vessels and cetaceans at sea, the use of artificial intelligence and the generation of real-time alerts. These capabilities could help to design and implement more effective management and monitoring measures aimed at reducing disturbance to the animals and protecting the areas of greatest importance for their conservation.
The PLOCAN team taking part in the meeting was made up of researchers Jacobo Marrero, Silvana Neves and Pablo Fernández. During the meeting, the results of the carrying-capacity study carried out in the Teno-Rasca Marine Strip SAC were analysed, a piece of work driven and led in earlier stages by PLOCAN researcher Jacobo Marrero.
The study brings together a series of data spanning more than ten years, obtained through land- and sea-based observations, photo-identification, biopsy sampling, acoustic recordings and the monitoring of recreational boating activity, providing a precise picture of the cetacean community and the pressures it faces.
Synergies were also highlighted with projects such as BESTLIFE2030, Ocean Sentinel, “Innovation in artificial-intelligence-based services for marine spatial planning and environmental assessment”, funded by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria (Decision CGC/2024/11833, Department of the Environment, Climate, Energy and Knowledge), and the Interreg Atlantic project Atlantic Whale Deal, aimed at strengthening the knowledge, monitoring and conservation of cetaceans in the Canary Islands. Drawing on its scientific and technological capabilities, PLOCAN will continue to contribute to supporting public authorities and the sector in defining viable, sustainable solutions grounded in scientific knowledge.
