The Director General of Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture of the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM), Alejandro Polanco, has presented the activities of the General Secretariat of the Sea for the conservation of biodiversity in the Alboran Sea.

During the celebration of the centenary of the Norwegian sailing ship for the research and conservation of cetaceans, birds and turtles TOFTEVAAG, used by the NGO ALNITAK with which the MARM has been collaborating for more than a decade, Alejandro Polanco highlighted the importance of the biodiversity of the Alboran Sea.

In this sense, he stressed that the General Secretariat of the Sea carries out species management plans, actions aimed at fisheries sustainability and actions focused on the mitigation of accidental captures of turtles and seabirds.

Likewise, Alejandro Polanco has highlighted the upcoming characterization of the Alboran Sea, within the framework of the INDEMARES program, with the aim of it being declared a Site of Community Interest (SCI).

INDEMARES is a LIFE+ project that aims to contribute to the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity in Spanish seas by identifying areas of value for the Natura 2000 Network: Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) and Sites of Community Interest (SCIs). The actions planned within the framework of the project, which takes place between January 1, 2009 and
on 31 December 2013, it has a budget of 15.4 million euros, 50% co-financed by the European Commission.

Within the framework of INDEMARES, ALNITAK develops the action of the “MITIGA Laboratory” in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Sea, which consists of the development of technological measures to reduce the risks derived from the tourism, fishing, transport, energy and defense sectors, for the populations of cetaceans, birds and sea turtles.

At the same time, ALNITAK is developing another project together with the Biodiversity Foundation, “Alborán, a practical case for the application of the European marine strategy”, which aims to create a platform for the promotion and coordination of international cooperation of the Cetacean Working Group.
Birds and Sea Turtles of the “Initiative for the sustainable management of the Alboran Sea”.

In this way, the director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Ana Leiva, has stressed the transcendental importance of the projects that are developed jointly with the ALNITAK organization for the conservation of turtles and cetaceans in the Alboran Sea, as well as the value of Spanish marine biodiversity, essential in our quality of life.