The strait between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura is home to one of the most important marine stretches for the conservation of cetaceans in the Canary Islands and is a biodiversity hotspot. The regulation that protected it as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) recognized that 771 different species and at least 28 types of cetaceans took refuge in its waters. In the waters of the Canary archipelago, 31 species of whales and dolphins have currently been detected.
In mid-July, the carcass of a Blainville's beaked whale (mesoplodon densirostris) washed ashore on the coast of Caleta de Caballo (Teguise). This specimen, which died of natural causes according to details provided by the University Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA) to *La Voz*, belongs to one of the deep-diving species for which scientists have been advocating for decades to increase the protection of this area and declare it a Special Conservation Area (SCA).
One of the particularities of Blainville's beaked whales is that they can spend up to an hour diving at a depth of 1,500 meters, as revealed two years ago by a researcher from the University of La Laguna.
"It is a very important area globally," states Vidal Martín, president of the Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Archipelago (SECAC), the scientific institution with the largest number of research projects in Lanzarote. This stretch of coast "is home to several deep-diving species, which are also rare and little known globally," he continues.
Among the species found in this area are the aforementioned Blainville's beaked whale, as well as Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), which can dive for three hours and reach a depth of 3,000 meters, and Gervais' beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus). The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), the dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima), the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and the Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) can also be observed. Along with them, the oceanic giants such as the fin whale or Bryde's whale also reach the coasts of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
The best biological collection of cetaceans
As a result of whale strandings and their study, Lanzarote has "the best biological collection of cetaceans in all of Macaronesia," which is guarded by the Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Archipelago (SECAC), reveals its president Vidal Martín. The institution studied the conservation of cetaceans in Lanzarote and La Graciosa until 2013, but the lack of funding prevented them from continuing to monitor this reality with the same continuity as before.
The Canary Islands are a privileged territory for cetaceans. For example, the Gervais' beaked whale can be frequently seen in the stretch between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, making this area one of the places in the world where it can be most frequently observed, while around 400 short-finned pilot whales have their established residence in the south of Tenerife.
Two reasons cause cetacean species to take refuge near the Canary coasts. The first is the volcanic origin of the islands, which allows great depths to be reached very close to the coastline, and the second is the hydrodynamic processes generated when the islands act as an "obstacle" to currents and winds.
This proximity to the coastline is an advantage for species sighting and for the biodiversity of the area, but also a risk to the survival of cetaceans. These species face conservation problems for various reasons, from tourist pressure in the archipelago, to the excessive growth of observation activities "without any carrying capacity study" to support them, as well as collisions with regular or recreational vessels.
Lack of data, control, and protection
Vidal points out that to this situation is added "the lack of studies" on cetaceans in the archipelago. "The Ministry of Environment has invested very little in cetacean research in relation to the rest of Spain," he indicates, "the Canary Islands are one of the areas where it has invested the least in research," he adds. To this lack of research is added the deficiencies in environmental education that disseminate the regulations protecting cetaceans.
At the same time, Martín denounces that two European regulations, the Habitats Directive and the Marine Strategy, do not contribute "significantly" to the conservation or knowledge of these species. "Neither of the two tools currently guarantees the conservation of cetaceans in the Canary Islands," criticizes Vidal, who exposes "the neglect" of the administrations to protect these animals.
In the case of Lanzarote, the SECAC has been pursuing for more than twenty years the declaration of the strip encompassing the island of Fuerteventura and southern Lanzarote as a Special Conservation Zone without success to date.
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