It was held at the headquarters of the Center for Advanced Studies in Blanes (CEAB) on September 29, within the framework of the European Research Night. The objective of the event was to bring together the scientific evidence that is available today about the ocean, the threats it faces and the actions that we must urgently carry out to protect it.
It began with the screening of the documentary “Mar Pelàgica” from the IB3 series “Archipèlag blau”. The piece delves into the open sea and exposes the importance of tiny organisms, such as phytoplankton, which releases about half of the oxygen we breathe. At the same time, it brings us closer to the largest beings of the pelagic environment, such as whales and dolphins, as well as the still quite unknown inhabitants of the abyssal zones.
After the documentary, attendees took a tour of the exhibition “Entering the Ocean” of the Ocean Night project. The different reasons why seas and oceans are key to the survival of humanity on our planet are detailed.
The documentary and the exhibition have been the starting point for the participants in the activity to ask questions related to the ocean and its conservation. CEAB research staff in the field of marine ecology responded to them, sharing the scientific evidence available to date and exchanging impressions with the attendees.
Among the many questions raised there have been: the impact on marine life of the rise in sea water temperature, ways to combat plastic pollution, the possible impacts of activities such as desalination plants, the tropicalization of the Mediterranean, the type of medicines that are obtained from the sea, if sunscreen and other cosmetics are harmful by the sea, if the next generation will consume wild fish, if humanity is the main obstacle to the preservation of the ocean or what actions each of us can take of us for the conservation of marine life.
Faced with this last question, the main researcher of the Ocean Night project, Meritxell Genovart, has pointed out that “caring for the ocean implies rethinking society along the lines of degrowth: consuming less, throwing away less and polluting less.”
The participants have been able to take home a reminder with some of the actions that each of us can implement to advance along this line and take care of seas and oceans.
