Full speed ahead during the lockdown

Even though all STM field activities were cancelled, our team has kept busy during the confinement to ensure that the organisation’s objectives can be reached as efficiently as possible. Read about some of the highlights below and make sure to visit Save The Med’s YouTube channel to see videos of the different initiatives! All mentioned resources can be downloaded from our website or viewed on our YouTube channel for free.

Expeditions

The Toftevaag under sail, during the 2018 expedition in the Balearics.

Towards the end of May our research vessel Toftevaag could finally set sail! If you are keen to join us onboard there are a few free spots left for the 2020 expedition season.

Animal Oceanographers 

The last active turtle tag deployed in 2019 on a turtle named “Jo” stopped transmitting on the 12th of April 2020. The tag was active for ten months, sending us over 80.000 transmissions of oceanographic data. We expect to deploy new tags over the next few weeks!

Ghost FAD´s (Fish Aggregating Device)

We have officially launched a new project focusing on an alarming threat to marine life: floating ghost fishing gear and FADs. Expect a full article on this important subject very soon! Meanwhile, have a look at the video online!

Exploring the lockdown effect

To investigate whether sightings of marine animals during the confinement were truly related to the absence of human activities or not, we developed a citizen science questionnaire that enables sailors, divers and beach goers to help us to “explore the lockdown effect” by reporting any unusual sightings they might encounter.

Discover Your MPA Sa Dragonera 

Several online initiatives have been launched to provide the opportunity to learn about Sa Dragonera MPA from home & include :

•             Species videos and weekly social media posts about the biodiversity in the MPA.
•             Educational memory game to discover  species found in Sa Dragonera MPA through play.
•             An Illustrated map and information leaflet to be used during visits to the Natural Park.

Creative community projects 

Many of you have participated in our marine inspired digital initiatives such as:

•             •Live Lessons on YouTube (which you can still catch up on!)
•             •Drawing Collaboration: Envisioning a clean and healthy Mediterranean Sea
•             •The colouring booklet “Colours of the Mediterranean”
•             •Our Community video from your favourite moments in the Med (See below!)

Dos Manos Schools Programme 

We have had to cancel all school programmes due to the State of Emergency. This affected 887 signed up students. Instead, we provided schools (and anyone else interested) with a “Dos Manos Digital Pack” to enable them to acquire relevant knowledge by working from home.

The Changemakers of 2020 are preparing to join us onboard! 

Early June we presented the Changemakers of 2020 in a live online announcement, welcoming the incredibly creative team Kokoua onboard the Toftevaag this summer! We also surprised all teams with an unexpected invite to spend a day at sea with us and the beautiful, sun-powered boat Stenella. Special Thanks to Toni Font for this unique opportunity! Expect to read more about this after their expeditions! Meanwhile, visit www.changemakersatsea.org to get to know our teams!

Plastic free Balearics 

• In addition to their regular work our BSP team have over the last months:
• Worked on increasing the robustness of the Single Use Plastic Index (SUPI).
•  Established several new and exciting collaborations to help reduce the generation of singleuse plastic waste in the tourism sector.
• Continued to map the tap water quality in the different municipalities of the Balearic Islands, a project developed in collaboration with Cleanwave and SEAE.
• Initiated a new research project related to the surge in single use plastic sanitary waste resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Launched a new campaign “Buy Local” to help people find local providers of food, beverage and gardening supplies, which not only reduces the environmental impact but also helps support the local community in times of crisis and beyond.

The Story of Plastic and online debate with Dr. Olea

Due to safety reasons, this year we moved the annual Night of San Juan #ZeroWaste event online, where we expanded our knowledge about the environmental, social and health effects of our plastic use together with Dr Nicolás Olea, one of the world’s leading experts on the effects of plastics contaminants on human health. A very interesting and important conversation that we recommend everyone to listen to! Video of the debate is available on YouTube, in the playlist Campaign/Campaña: Nit de San Joan #ResiduZero.

All resources can be downloaded from our website (scroll down in the news section) and videos viewed on our YouTube channel.