This is going to be a year with many jellyfish. During the whole night we saw the fluorescent jellyfish flashing in the boat’s wake. There are not so many in the coastal areas yet, but the high seas are full of them. In the evening, we passed through an area with many buoys of long … Read more
Happy Birthday, Ranger! We are celebrating the 39th anniversary of the Ranger. She was built on 14th July 1986. We bought a cake in Soller, and we celebrated it during lunch. Ranger blew out the candles with the fans. The Ranger started doing expedition with Oceana when she was only eighteen. Yesterday we anchored south … Read more
Surprisingly, the first site we surveyed today had good coralligenous outcrops, although not very tall. The area was described as a rhodoliths bed and, although there are rhodoliths, coralligenous concretions are more abundant. This coralligenous is a bit different and has more red algae and hydrozoans living on it than what we have seen so … Read more
The new site surveyed is a rhodoliths bed like the ones we saw yesterday. Once again, many sponges, sea squirts, sea stars, green algae and some deep-sea kelps. After our first ROV dive, a small swordfish was jumping close to the boat. Not far from here there is a trap fishing boat, and a few … Read more
Here we are. Researching in Tramontana proposed Marine Reserve. The first ROV dive was in a sandy bottom with irregular sea urchins, scattered rhodoliths and brown algae (Arthrocladia villosa). We were expecting coralligenous, because a map from previous research marked as a big coralligenous patch, but we did not find it. A bit eastern, in … Read more
Second day in the Balearic Islands. As I explained yesterday, we are staying in the Western part of Mallorca until the strong wind pass. We are researching the Malgrats and Toro Marine Reserve. The Local government is planning to change the map of the marine reserve leaving outside some areas. We are surveying those sites. … Read more
First ROV dive in Tramontana (North Mallorca). We started in a sandy bottom at 80-90 m deep with sparse rhodoliths a lots of sand brittle stars (Ophiopsila aranea), but a few minutes later we started watching some coralligenous outcrops, that were becoming bigger. The coralligenous concretions are fully covered of sponges (Haliclona simulans, H. oculata, … Read more
At Oceana, our expeditions are about more than just exploration, they’re about filling crucial data gaps to drive meaningful change for our oceans. From remote underwater habitats to threatened coastal regions, Oceana’s at-sea expeditions have fuelled significant campaign victories around the world. But what’s it like on an Oceana expedition? We sat down with Ricardo … Read more
Sign up today to get weekly updates and action alerts from Oceana.
We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.
Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
