- The information obtained will make it possible to update the maps of marine habitats and guide management and conservation strategies in the surroundings of the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago and the surrounding waters
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), through the Directorate General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification and the Autonomous Agency for National Parks (OAPN) and in collaboration with the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), has identified marine habitats of high ecological value and protected and endemic species of the Mediterranean during the MaMenCab-2024 oceanographic campaign. developed between November and December 2024, and whose objective is to advance in the knowledge and conservation of the marine environment in the Balearic Islands.
The work was carried out on board the research vessel Francisco de Paula Navarro by scientific staff from the IEO’s oceanographic centres in the Balearic Islands and Murcia, in collaboration with the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). For more than a month, the team toured the continental shelf of Mallorca, Menorca and the extended area of the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago, carrying out underwater recordings, sediment sampling and detailed analysis of the seabed.
The data obtained have made it possible to map benthic habitats of special ecological interest, such as maërl (rhodolith) formations, coralligenous areas and areas with the presence of the brown algae Laminaria rodriguezii, a species endemic to the Mediterranean. This information will be key to updating marine habitat maps and guiding management and conservation strategies in the national park environment and surrounding waters.
The campaign is part of the BIOVID project, dedicated to scientific and technical advice for the monitoring of marine biodiversity in protected areas and species under state jurisdiction. It is funded by the European Union within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP), being coordinated by the Directorate-General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of MITECO and the CSIC through the IEO.
In addition, the work carried out responds to the OAPN’s commissions to the IEO within the framework of Component 4 of the RTRP: “Conservation and restoration of ecosystems and their biodiversity”, specifically in Investment 1: “Digitalisation and knowledge of natural heritage”. This line of action aims to strengthen scientific knowledge as a basis for effective management of marine ecosystems.
The results obtained reinforce the strategic role of the Balearic archipelago in marine research in the western Mediterranean, and consolidate collaboration between scientific institutions and public administrations in favour of the conservation of marine ecosystems.
