The funds raised during the evening will support the ‘SOFIANet’ project, a strategic alliance between Loro Parque Fundación, Fundación Reina Sofía, CIRCE, and the University of La Laguna to protect cetaceans in the Strait of Gibraltar through acoustic monitoring.
The Poema del Mar aquarium became the epicenter of marine conservation tonight on the occasion of the World Oceans Day charity dinner. The event, which brought together more than 400 attendees including authorities, business representatives, and prominent members of the scientific community, has established itself as one of the most important social and institutional gatherings in the Canary Islands.
The gala, organised by the Loro Parque Foundation, featured a performance by the Bach IBF Canarias quartet, providing the soundtrack for an evening dedicated to ocean protection. All proceeds will be allocated to the development of SOFIANet (Sensing Ocean Frequencies through Integrated Acoustic Networks), a pioneering project to continuously monitor the presence of cetaceans in the Strait of Gibraltar. This initiative brings together the scientific expertise of the Loro Parque Foundation, the Queen Sofia Foundation, CIRCE and the University of La Laguna to reduce critical threats such as collisions with vessels and noise pollution.
This new impetus for science builds on the solid track record of Loro Parque Fundación, which launched its marine projects in 2004 with a firm commitment to environmental education.
Among its historic milestones is the technical and financial support provided in 2006 to a pioneering project to develop several diagnostic kits, designed to detect the presence of specific antibodies to different pathogens in the blood serum of orcas.
To date, the Foundation has developed a total of 83 marine projects, with a specific investment reaching 6,990,845 US dollars.
During the event, Christoph Kiessling, president of the Loro Parque Foundation, highlighted the value of the science emerging from the archipelago: “Tonight we are not only celebrating the beauty of the ocean at Poema del Mar, but also promoting cutting-edge projects which, like SOFIANet, demonstrate that the Canary Islands are an international benchmark in the defence of biodiversity.”
For his part, Dr Javier Almunia, coordinator of SOFIANet, explained the project’s technological significance: “SOFIANet allows us to listen to the ocean in order to understand and protect it. Through a hybrid network of hydrophones and smart buoys, we will be able to detect orcas, sperm whales and other cetaceans in a matter of minutes, generating essential data for marine management.”
The success of this event was made possible thanks to the selfless and altruistic collaboration of a distinguished group of companies that have reaffirmed their commitment to sustainability and the environment. Collaborating entities include Vintia, Audiovisuales Canarias, Activa Canarias, Comesa, Emicela, Danafresh, Egatesa, Orthidal, Europastry, Makro, Ahembo, CCC, Firgas, Perelada-Chivite, and Gráficas Guiniguada.
With this initiative, Loro Parque Fundación, which has globally invested more than 30 million US dollars in over 300 conservation projects worldwide, saving 18 species from extinction, continues to lead direct actions to ensure that the most threatened species have a future in our oceans.
