This is a report prepared by Oceana, with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, which provides information on valuable Macaronesian habitats and classifies them according to the codes established by the Natura 2000 Network, in order to make an effective contribution to their conservation.

This is a report prepared by Oceana, with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, which provides information on valuable Macaronesian habitats and classifies them according to the codes established by the Natura 2000 Network, in order to make an effective contribution to their conservation.

On Thursday 31 March, the Secretary of State for Climate Change, Teresa Ribera, chaired the presentation of the report “Proposal for marine areas of ecological importance. Canary Islands”, prepared by Oceana, with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs.

This publication is the epilogue of a project that began in 2009 with the aim of exploring possible priority areas for the conservation of marine biodiversity in waters of state competence in the Canary Islands. Specifically, an oceanographic campaign was undertaken to collect information on Macaronesian habitats ‘in situ’, identify marine areas susceptible to protection, and, above all, contribute to the knowledge of the seabed and marine ecosystems of the Canary Islands, with a view to the declaration of new marine protected areas.

During 2009, aboard the Oceana Ranger catamaran, the international marine conservation organization carried out a two-month expedition in the Canary archipelago, documenting seabeds up to 700 meters deep. To do this, professional divers equipped with photographic and video cameras carried out shallow dives, while in deep areas and in remote seamounts, such as on the Amanay and Banquete banks or in the Sahara mountains, in the south of the Archipelago, an underwater robot (ROV) was used to record some of the existing marine species and habitats.

At the end of the expedition, unprecedented information has been obtained on places that have been little explored until now: some 500 different marine species were documented, some recorded in these waters for the first time, such as the armed fish; some black corals and the giant oyster. Data were also collected on habitats of great importance, such as those formed by bryozoans, sponges, gorgonians and corals. Likewise, the classification of the marine habitats studied was made according to the criteria of the Natura 2000 Network and the EUNIS codes. This information, together with an extensive bibliography, has been included in the document, whose edition has also been supported by EUROPARC Spain.

It should be noted that, in order to record in Marine Reserves of Fishing Interest (Isla Graciosa and islets in the north of Lanzarote, La Palma and Punta de la Restinga-Mar de las Calmas), Oceana’s technicians have had the support of the General Secretariat of the Sea. On the other hand, experts and scientists from the Archipelago have also participated in the analysis of the information and the identification of the documented species.

This study is a complementary action to INDEMARES, since it provides information that will help to identify and assess places of interest for their protection. The LIFE+ INDEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation and co-financed by the European Commission, has a participatory approach and integrates the work of leading institutions in the field of management, research and conservation of the marine environment, with the aim of identifying and designating the marine Natura 2000 Network in Spain. Its partners are: the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Spanish National Research Council, ALNITAK, the Coordinator for the Study of Marine Mammals (CEMMA), the Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Islands (SECAC), SEO/BirdLife, WWF Spain and OCEANA itself.

Undoubtedly, this publication contributes to taking a further step towards conservation, through knowledge, concretizing the spirit of the Law for the Protection of the Marine Environment, which has among its objectives the development of marine strategies for each marine demarcation.