The underwater robot images, made with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, have made it possible to develop for the first time a cartography with the main habitats and the location of protected species.

Oceana has presented, on Friday, July 8, in Palma de Mallorca, a report with a proposal for protection for the seamounts of the Mallorca Channel: Ausías March, Emile Baudot and Ses Olives.

The project contains two areas that add up to a total of 2,820 km2 and are among the most ecologically valuable in the Spanish sea due to their high biodiversity. In them, 29 protected, vulnerable or threatened species have been documented, such as dolphins, pilot whales, loggerhead turtles and newt conchs.

The images that support this proposal were collected with an underwater robot (ROV) during the 2010 expedition of the Oceana Ranger research catamaran, carried out with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation.

This information has been reflected for the first time in a cartography that will allow the authorities to have a clear and concise tool to design measures to protect this valuable marine space.

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