The third edition of the Open Fotosub "Lanzarote Mar de Lava" 2012 will be held on June 29 and 30 in the waters of the Arrecife Marina and Playa Chica in Puerto del Carmen, respectively. An event organized by the Pastinaca Underwater Activities Club, the Arrecife City Council, the Tias City Council, and the Cabildo de Lanzarote, through the Biosphere Reserve area and the Departments of Environment and Tourism of the first Island Corporation. The Lanzarote Security and Emergency Consortium, Emerlan, and the GEAS unit of the Civil Guard also collaborate, among other organizations.
During the presentation of the III Open Fotosub, Rafael Mesa, president of CAS Pastinaca, detailed that in this third edition the event is finally "insularized", being held on June 29 in the Arrecife waters (behind the old commercial dock, in the area where the Diadema Urchin eradication campaigns have been carried out) while on June 30 it will move to Puerto del Carmen, to Playa Chica.
In Arrecife it will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with an immersion time of three hours, and in Playa Chica from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with an immersion time in this case of five hours. The maximum depth for the immersion on June 29 in Arrecife will be 30 meters and 40 for the immersion on the 30th in Playa Chica.
On Sunday, July 1, at 11:00 a.m., the awards ceremony will take place at the Hotel Grand Teguise Playa, which will include distinguished sea and land photographers such as Javier Alonso, from the Pancho Lasso Art School; Luis Miguel del Olmo; Cristina Fernández, from Oceanográfica, and Joaquín García, photographer from the island of Tenerife.
The Minister of the Environment of the Cabildo, Mónica Álvarez, who was accompanied at the press conference by the Minister of the Biosphere Reserve, Juan Antonio de la Hoz, and the councilors of Arrecife and Tías, Rafael Juan González Robayna and Nerea Santana, respectively, thanked the president of the Pastinaca Underwater Activities Club, Rafael Mesa, "for the organization of this photographic contest that allows us to value the richness of the marine fauna and flora of our funds".
Similarly, the Councilor for Tourism of the municipality of Tías showed herself, who highlighted that "specifically in Playa Chica one of the most important seabeds in Europe is concentrated". Rafael Juan González Robayna, Councilor for the Environment of the capital, was also pleased that "the contest returned to Arrecife, an important point of biodiversity on the island".
Finally, the Councilor of the Biosphere Reserve Area also congratulated the Club "for teaching residents, Canarians and those who visit us, the values that our funds have". He also thanked the support and commitment acquired from the different diving clubs, from the association and from the III Open Fotosub itself for reaffirming the 'NO to Oil Prospecting, YES to Renewable Energies'.
"Natural values that through diving, as a sustainable tourist activity and linked to a model, we cannot allow them to end them, with our resources and with the biodiversity that inhabits these seabeds," stressed the Councilor of the Biosphere Reserve area of Lanzarote, in reference to the risks that oil exploration would entail on our coasts.
The contest
In this edition, among the 18 teams that have registered for the test, there will be the current champion of Spain, David Barrio, and the renowned photographer and also champion of Spain Arturo Telle, as well as the rest of the champions of the other editions of the Lanzarote contest. Of these teams, 6 belong to Lanzarote, 3 to Tenerife, 8 to Gran Canaria and 1 to Fuerteventura.
The teams are made up of 2 divers, a photographer and a model. The collection that they have to present will be of 5 photographs in the modalities of environments or underwater landscapes (at least in one of these photos the model must appear) and 3 photographs of fauna.
Trophies and diplomas will be awarded for the winning collection, second classification and third. Special prizes for the best "photo-environment", best "fauna", best "macro" and best "underwater model". The nominees in these four categories will also receive a diploma of recognition.
Security
All registered divers are in possession of a diving title and diving insurance in force. They must also abide by the rules and safety measures in force in sports diving.
The competition will have all the security and prevention guarantees required, thanks to the Self-Protection Plan prepared by the Lanzarote Security and Emergency Consortium and the collaboration of Emerlan and the Civil Guard, among others. There will be a medicalized ambulance and an emergency boat.
