Join a round table on Iberian Orcas interactions with sailing vessels

The Polarquest.org Association has partnered with the Galician association ARSCIENCIA to organise PROYECTO ORCAS, a roundtable that will take place on April 29 at 12:00 at the Museo do Mar de Sorrizo in Arteixo, Galicia.

The discussion will focus on the Iberian orcas and their “interactions” with sailing vessels along the Iberian Peninsula coast, from the Strait of Gibraltar in the south to the Bay of Biscay in the north. This peculiar behaviour of a subpopulation of the species was first recorded in 2020; over 700 sailing vessels were severely damaged and six sunk as a result of what is in fact an attack by the orcas specifically aimed at the boats’ rudders. The issue remains a subject of debate among affected communities – scientists, sailors, fishermen, marina managers, local government, and ultimately the public. Despite dedicated research carried out by marine biologists and cetacean experts, no real agreement has been reached so far on a common approach and effective, standardised rules to prevent boat damage while protecting this small group of orcas, which is in danger of extinction.

The roundtable, conducted in English and Spanish, will be moderated by Galician biologist Eva QUIROGA. Participants include Alfredo LÓPEZ FERNANDEZ, marine biologist and director of CEMMA (Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamíferos Mariños); Paola CATAPANO, President of Polarquest.org and skipper/owner of Lady Magellan, a 46-foot sailboat currently sailing along the Iberian Peninsula; Luis VARELA, biologist and Concello de Arteixo technician; Rogelio SANTOS QUIROGA, a sustainable fisherman; Francisco VARELA CASTRO, secretary of the Malpica Fishermen’s Guild, and other experts who will join remotely. The objective is to trigger constructive interaction among all stakeholders, share mutual experience, and exchange the latest knowledge on the subject. The discussion will also cover the contribution of citizen science (in particular the GT.orcas app) to monitoring interactions in an informed, collaborative way, as well as the potential of novel AI techniques to help find a more effective approach.

These initiatives aim to raise awareness about the threat to humans from a changing ocean and the need to take action.

The event is hosted at the Museo Mar de Sorrizo, a nature interpretation center of Red Natura, the Galician biosphere network. The museum will also host a photo and art exhibition, launched on the same day and open to the public until July 1, featuring plastic pollution in the ocean (from the Arctic to Galicia) and the marine family of dolphins, to which the Iberian orca belongs.

• Mare Plasticum is a collection of artworks made with plastic collected on Galician beaches by artists/scientists Margarita Cimadevila and Wolfgang Trettnak of ARSCIENCIA, dedicated to showing the problems related to marine plastic debris.

• 82°07 North is a collection of photographs featuring plastic found in the Arctic—on the beaches of the Svalbard Islands and at sea, up to the edge of the North Pole ice shelf beyond the 82nd parallel—during the Polarquest 2018 sailing expedition.

• Golfiños na proa is an exhibition that seeks to bring us closer to threatened marine fauna, revealing the species that navigate the Galician Sea and reflecting their biology and threatened status. 

With these initiatives, Polarquest.org, ARSCIENCIA, and their partners – the Concello de Arteixo, CEMMA, and CRS4-Cagliari –want to raise awareness about the threat to humans from a changing ocean and the need to take action. Because, as environmental pioneer Rachel Carson said: “… the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.” (Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us).

12:00 – Introduction speeches

• Welcome address from Concello de Arteixo: Patricia Amado, Concelleira de Contratación, Patrimonio, Turismo e Novas Tecnoloxias

• “A changing ocean, from the Arctic to Galicia – the Polarquest experience”: Paola Catapano, President of Polarquest.org, sailor, science communicator

• “ARSCIENCIA, Mare Plasticum”: M. Cimadevila and W. Trettnak, artists and scientists

12:20 – PROYECTO ORCAS: Roundtable Discussion on the Iberian Orcas issue

Moderator: Eva Quiroga, biologist and dancer

Speakers:

• Polarquest: Paola Catapano, president, science communicator, and sailor
• CEMMA: Alfredo López Fernández, director, marine biologist
• Concello de Arteixo: Luis Varela, environmental technician of Concello, biologist
• Francisco Varela Castro, Cofradía de Pescadores de Malpica
• Remote speakers from the scientific and sailing community

SPEAKER BIOS

Alfredo López Fernández – One of the founding members and leading scientists of CEMMA. He holds a PhD in Biology and specializes in the research and conservation of cetaceans in the Northeast Atlantic, particularly in Galicia. He combines scientific research with dissemination, environmental education, and scientific illustration.

José Luis Varela – Biologist specializing in zoology. Technician for the Concello de Arteixo in charge of local government environmental matters. He has conducted observations aboard fishing vessels and collaborates with CEMMA.

Eva Quiroga – SomosTerra S. Coop. co-founder, Eva combines science and art through contemporary dance and biology, specializing in sustainable development management. Her work focuses on participatory methodologies for agroecological land management. She coordinates several networks, such as Eo Alimenta and the Agricultural Stewardship Network, where the participation of citizens, public administration, and universities is essential to achieving ecosocial change.

ORGANIZERS & PARTNERS

CEMMA (Coordinator for the Study of Marine Mammals)

Galician NGO dedicated to the study and divulgation of marine mammals and sea turtles in Galicia, through research and the promoting of public knowledge. The institution is responsible to carry out the strandings network in the Galician coast, the management of the bank of the species biological samples the rehabilitation of injured animals and the population studies.

CRS4

The Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia is an interdisciplinary research center founded in 1990. It develops advanced technologies in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, visual computing and data analysis, with applications in environmental monitoring, bioinformatics, energy and cultural heritage. The Center is also active in science communication and public engagement initiatives. 

HOW TO VISIT

Museo Mar de Sorrizo
Lugar Porto, 4, 15144 Arteixo, A Coruña
Tel: 676181204
https://mardesorrizo.arteixo.org/