WWF Spain, a LIFE ECOREST project partner, has engaged nearly 500 people through the communication, awareness, and education campaign carried out from May 1st to 6th along the Costa Brava aboard its iconic boat, the Blue Panda.
The journey began at the Blanes port with a visit from the Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costa Kadis; the counselor of Territori Habitatge i Transició Ecològica, Silvia Paneque i Sureda, and the General Director of Polítiques Ambientals i Medi Natural de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Marc Vilahur. They witnessed firsthand the progress of the project, which aims to restore nearly 30,000 hectares of deep-sea marine habitats in Catalonia. During the visit, 45 specimens rescued from fishing nets and recovered in aquariums installed at collaborating fishermen’s guilds, were returned to a restoration area. These specimens belong to 6 different species including sponges (Axinella spp.), bryozoans (Reteporella spp.), gorgonians (Eunicella spp.), yellow corals (Dendrophyllia cornigera) and black corals (Antipathella subpinnata).
Education and Awareness
In addition to Blanes, the Blue Panda also visited Roses and Port de la Selva ports, bringing knowledge about the sea and the importance of its conservation closer to the public.
At each of the three ports, an information point about the project was set up, which was visited by nearly 400 people. Educational sessions and workshops were held with 30 students and their families, who had the opportunity to board the sailing ship and release marine organisms in the restoration zones.
National and international media also had the opportunity to board the Blue Panda and visit the aquariums located at the fishermen’s guilds. Furthermore, in Blanes and Roses, informative sessions, or Infodays, were held, with more than 30 participants.
WWF technical staff and volunteers, as well as representatives from ICM-CSIC and the fishing sector, supported this outreach and awareness campaign, in which they have collaborated Ports de la Generalitat, Club Vela Blanes, Port Roses, and the fishermen’s guilds of Roses, Port de la Selva, and Blanes.
LIFE ECOREST
The LIFE ECOREST project, coordinated by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) through 2026, includes partners such as the Federació Territorial de Confraries de Pescadors de Girona, the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the University of Barcelona, and WWF Spain. It is also co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. The project also receives support from the fishermen’s guilds of Llançà, Port de la Selva, Cadaqués, Roses, Palamós, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Blanes, Arenys de Mar, and Vilanova i la Geltrú.