The Bluewave Alliance (BWA), driven by ISDIN, which brings together purpose-driven companies, institutions, sustainability entrepreneurs, and the scientific community, presented yesterday the final model of the first sculpture in the SeaSpore project. This initiative, with technological partner Ocean Ecostructures, merges science, art, and technology to create spores that help restore marine biodiversity and raise awareness about the need to preserve seas and oceans. The original work, named SeaSpore Posidonia and created by artist Lorenzo Quinn, is nearing completion and will be submerged in the Barcelona coastline in the coming months.

The presentation took place at Port Olímpic during the Bluewave Days, a series of awareness-raising events focused on the protection of seas and oceans, which are celebrating their third edition this year. The event was attended by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, who emphasized “ISDIN’s commitment to the preservation of the marine environment” through projects like SeaSpore, which he described as “an important, educational, socially committed, and impactful contribution.” “We need many more companies to commit to nature and create this awareness,” he added.

ISDIN CEO, Juan Naya, pointed out the symbolism of the sculpture, which depicts a woman’s face with long, wavy hair. This part of the sculpture will be where Posidonia, a unique and crucial plant for the Mediterranean, will begin to grow after being submerged on the Barcelona coast. “We have always believed that a project like this should have its first immersion in Barcelona,” Naya emphasized.

The sculptor Lorenzo Quinn, ambassador of the Bluewave Alliance, explained the inspiration behind creating the first SeaSpore: “I wanted to call this piece of art SeaSpore Posidonia because it is a symbol of the Mediterranean and is essential for maintaining marine life.”

During the Bluewave Days opening, the ISDIN CEO also highlighted the alliance that unites “dreamers, committed companies, and institutions to restore the health and beauty of the Mediterranean” through activities, training, and scientific research and awareness projects. As part of this commitment, he emphasized the recent addition of ten new partners and more than forty collaborators to the Bluewave Alliance.

The event continued with a heartfelt posthumous tribute to Dr. Enrique Ballesteros, a leader in marine ecology and a member of the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council), followed by the ‘Blue Talks’ session, which highlighted the value of science as an ally in addressing current challenges, particularly environmental ones. Researchers such as Teresa Alcoverro (CEAB-CSIC), Charlie Sarria (Condrik), Andrea Spinelli (Oceanographic Foundation), Suso Peña (Lobelia Earth), Enric Sala (Pristine Seas, National Geographic), and Arnau Subías (Gastrobio) discussed their projects and the role of science in reversing climate change and biodiversity loss, while stressing the importance of conservation and awareness to care for all species that share our planet.

The following roundtables addressed issues such as the evolution of the Mediterranean, the most polluted sea in the world. The ‘Questions of the Future’ session, which featured Alex Avello (Oceavida), an ethologist and environmental educator, focused on the importance of training future generations for their “ocean literacy.” The debate also included Mireia de Mas (Ocean Ecostructures), Pol Ramos (Odicean), and Amaia Rodríguez (Gravity Wave), who agreed on the importance of business involvement in supporting regenerative and awareness-raising projects to enhance their scalability and make the blue economy sustainable.

During the committed companies panel, ISDIN’s CEO Juan Naya underlined that organizations have “the responsibility and opportunity to contribute” to solving environmental issues. “We can go further through innovation and strategic plans that serve major problems beyond business,” he stated.

Other participants in the panel included Juan García, Business Development Director at Caser; Marta Labata, CEO of BSM; and Jordi Sardina, CEO of Volvo Ditevo, who agreed on the importance of incentivizing change and minimizing negative impacts both internally and externally through partnerships. “Only companies that use sustainability as a long-term driver and invest in alliances will achieve their goals in terms of economic, social, and environmental profitability,” Labata emphasized.

The Symposium also included interviews with Manel Gazo, professor and researcher at the University of Barcelona, who denounced the effects of bycatch (involuntary capture through nets) on protected populations of cetaceans and sharks; Olivia Mandle, environmental activist who called on governments to close dolphinariums; Michel André, one of the world’s foremost experts in bioacoustics, who highlighted the importance of establishing protected areas against sound pollution along the coast; and Ona Carbonell, Olympic champion and ambassador of BWA and ISDIN, who emphasized the responsibility of public figures to raise awareness and highlight the various issues surrounding seas and oceans.

The day concluded with an inspiring speech by Zafer Kizilkaya, recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize 2023 for his efforts in expanding Marine Protected Areas along Turkey’s coast. The marine engineer and conservationist detailed his ecosystem restoration project on the coast of Gökova (Turkey), where, in the early 2000s, there were the fewest fish in the entire Mediterranean. “Active and effective conservation made it possible to not only increase the fish population but also their size, which has greatly helped the local fishing communities, many of which are led by women,” Kizilkaya remarked.

Zafer Kizilkaya was also one of the recipients of the Bluewave Awards held after the Symposium, which recognized global leaders contributing to the restoration of the health and beauty of the Mediterranean, the Bluewave Alliance’s core mission. Along with Kizilkaya (Mediterranean Protector Award), other awardees included Dr. Marta Estrada and Olivia Mandle.

Marta Estrada received the Excellence in Marine Science Award after over 50 years of work as an oceanographer. Estrada is a marine biologist and one of the first three Spanish women to set foot in Antarctica. She has spent much of her career at ICM-CSIC, which she directed from 1995 to 1997. She is internationally known for her studies on the distribution and dynamics of phytoplankton communities in marine ecosystems.

Olivia Mandle was another recipient of the night with the Rising Blue Voice Award, recognizing young people committed to the planet's future. At just 12 years old, Mandle invented the Jelly Cleaner, a homemade and sustainable tool that allows for the collection of microplastics from the ocean's surface and has been spread in schools and coastal communities. Later, she began researching captivity in Spain, which led to an ambitious and necessary campaign: #NoEsPaísParaDelfines, calling for the end of dolphinariums in Spain. Mandle is the youngest ambassador of the European Climate Pact.

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