"When an animal arrives stranded on the coast, it arrives very weakened and it is very difficult to get it to recover. By working directly in the sea, we catch them when they still have strength and increase their survival rate", says Alex Lorente, biologist and coordinator of the Vell Marí team, a high seas hospital, which has been sailing for a year in order to recover and rehabilitate injured species found on its route. So far, they have traveled the Spanish Mediterranean coast, the French coast and the Balearic Islands where they managed to recover 60 turtles in three days with the help of fishing boats. Now they have arrived in the Canary Islands and during this week they will be in Lanzarote where they have inaugurated the third phase of the project: a mobile classroom that will develop the didactic aspect of the project.
"It makes no sense that there is a problem and that people are not aware of it", argues Alex Lorente, in reference to the informative program that began this Monday in Lanzarote. Through video projections, explanatory panels, monitors and an on-site tour of the operating room, laboratory and facilities of the hospital sailboat, you can learn about the work carried out by this project promoted by La Caixa's Social Work and carried out with the collaboration of CRAM, a foundation for the Conservation and Recovery of Marine Animals.
Regarding the investigative work that is also carried out on the sailboat, they try to adapt it to the local problem. In the case of the Canary Islands, they will focus on studying noise pollution and its effects, especially on cetaceans. To this end, two "ear" hydrophones - (Ecologic Acoustic Recorder), a technology that is being tested for the first time in Europe - have been placed in the south of Tenerife and in the north of Gran Canaria as it is a transit area for both cetaceans and boats.
Another tracking hydrophone installed in the stern of the sailboat captures all the sounds while they are en route. "A sonic map of the area is made and you can see how it affects the cetacean populations", explains Lorente. For the moment they have detected that in places where there is a lot of sound, they find fewer populations. "The moment we put a hydrophone in the water, we have to take off our helmets because the sound is loud", he says. The "repercussion of military maneuvers with high-frequency sonars has also been addressed and there have been mass strandings of whales".
Before continuing its journey through the islands of the Archipelago, to leave for Cantabrian waters, where they will end a 7,000-mile route, they will be this week in Puerto Naos. Educational centers are responsible for arranging appointments with the organization, although it is open to the general public.
