The Marine Forum presents its new goal on its sixth day: to preserve 30% of the Mediterranean Sea

The Marine Forum, a Balearic think tank, will hold the last of the sessions of its sixth edition in Maó, next Thursday, November 7th. The focus of this final act, which will take place in the auditorium of the Claustro del Carmen, will be the goal of protecting 30% of the Mediterranean Sea by 2030, and, moreover, that 10% of it be under strict protection.

This year, the companies and entities that make up the Promotional Team -IbizaPreservation, Marilles Foundation, Pacha Foundation, Trasmapi, OD Group, and the Vellmarí association- considered it appropriate that in this edition the Marine Forum had a presence on all four Balearic Islands so that the meeting would have a wider impact.

The closing session in Menorca will be divided into two parts: in the first, the Protected Marine Area project that the TURSIOPS association has designed for the northern area of Menorca will be presented, where it has been confirmed as a breeding area for the sperm whale in the Balearic Sea and that justifies the interest for its protection. The presentation will be given by Txema Brotons, scientific director and founder of this entity that specializes in cetaceans and underwater acoustics.

The second part will feature a round table in which, in addition to Brotons, Victor Carretero, marine technician at GOB Menorca; Noelia Hernández, ocean policy consultant at Oceana Europe; and Irene Estaún, environmentalist currently working on the INTERREG Euro MED ARTEMIS project, focused on the restoration of Posidonia oceanica and the assessment of ecosystem services, will participate.

The goal is to understand the need and urgency to implement the MED 30 project to achieve effective protection of 30% of the Spanish Mediterranean and declare 10% of its waters as marine areas with a strict protection category by 2030. Both Ecologistas en Acción, which includes GOB Menorca, and Oceana Europe, along with the Marilles Foundation, lead this Sea Med Alliance project.

"The Mediterranean, although one of the most threatened seas on the planet, hosts some 17,000 marine species making it one of the largest reserves of marine biodiversity. 7.5% of the world's marine fauna and 18% of the flora reproduce and live in its waters. Human pressure, overfishing, pollution, rising temperatures, or the introduction of invasive species are the problems it faces. That is why we believe in the urgency and need for effective protection, with budgeted marine areas and ambitious management plans," stated Antonio Martínez Beneyto, coordinator of the Marine Forum.

With this event, the cycle of Marine Forum 2024 events will conclude, which began in Ibiza at the beginning of October with a session in which posidonia and the conservation and regeneration of the Mediterranean were the protagonists. The second act took place in Mallorca, where illegal fishing and the need for sustainable practices in the sector were analyzed with the presentation of the Calant Xarxes project, while last week in Formentera, three projects aimed at marine conservation were presented.