The island of Lanzarote will host the first underwater museum in Europe. The members of the Board of Directors of the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism of the Cabildo of Lanzarote (CACT), the entity promoting the project, have given the green light this Friday to the financing of the "Atlantic Museum Lanzarote: Biosphere, Art and Nature", a work by the British eco-sculptor Jason DeCaires Taylor. He is also the author of the Underwater Sculpture Park, on the Caribbean island of Grenada, and the Underwater Museum of Art (MUSA) of Isla Mujeres, in Cancun, Mexico.
The Board of Directors of the CACT has also authorized the CEO to sign the corresponding contract. The Atlantic Museum Lanzarote will be located on the southwest coast of the island, in a space on the seabed near Las Coloradas, in the municipality of Yaiza. The execution budget for this artistic space is 700,000 euros, spread over two years.
This area is not within the limits of any area protected by current legislation and meets "the best conditions for its installation since it is sheltered from the large currents that affect the north coast of the island", according to the Tourist Centers. In addition, the shallow sandy bottom, the almost flat substrate of the seabed, the quality and transparency of the waters, the proximity to port facilities and the absence of fishing grounds or other species on which there are protection figures have also been determining circumstances for the choice of location.
The materials used by DeCaires Taylor, harmless to the environment, and the layout of the museum itself will favor the colonization of flora and fauna in these funds, as happened in the underwater museums of Granada and Cancun, according to the same sources. In the latter, for example, the coral biomass increased by 12 percent between 2009 (opening date) and 2013, while that of crustaceans, fish, mollusks and algae did so between 59 percent and 65 percent.
Sculptures that can survive 300 years
Although the installation will be developed on an area of 2,500 square meters, the net occupation of the seabed will not exceed 15 percent of this area. In it, sculptural sets will be executed in which the artist has been working for months, especially in obtaining molds for his figures from dozens of citizens of Lanzarote and residents of the island. These sculptures are constructed with high-quality marine cement, guaranteed to survive in the marine environment for 300 years.
In addition, DeCaires Taylor uses materials that do not affect the seabed, the flora and fauna of the surrounding environment, nor does he use metals or unsustainable corrosive materials. The surfaces of the sculptures, for their part, are pH neutral in order to attract marine growth. Likewise, they will be washed before deployment to remove any type of residue.
Once finished, the sculptures will be submerged to a depth of no less than 12 meters and no more than 15, which allows the museum to be visited by divers of all levels and that, even, is visible on certain days from the surface.
Generate income for research
On the other hand, it should be noted that 2 percent of the income generated will be used for research and dissemination of the richness of the species and the seabed of the island. The decision of the members of the Board of Directors gives the green light to a project that "will contribute to differentiating Lanzarote from the rest of the competing tourist markets" and "will serve as a stimulus to the growing segment of diving tourists who visit the island every year".
In 2013, 103,282 tourists visited Lanzarote motivated by knowing its seabed. The president and Minister of Tourism of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, has assured that this project will mean "a milestone in the history of this island in the 21st century".