The Calpe Conference 2020: a Personal View

26/11/2020 The Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view

HOME LOCAL NEWS BREXIT UK/SPAIN NEWS

FEATURES SPORTS OPINION & ANALYSIS E-EDITION

FEATURES The Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view

MOST READ

FEATURES Local businessman warns of impact of growing trac

Mon 23rd Nov, 2020 UK/SPAIN NEWS Andalucia seals off region in Covid- BY GUEST CONTRIBUTOR Share 19 move, with knock-on impact at border with Gibraltar

26th November 2020 Wed 28th Oct, 2020 PART THREE LOCAL NEWS Man arrested after dramatic crash on By Dr Alex Menez Queensway

The nal day began with a captivating Sat 21st Nov, 2020 lecture by Darren Fa, Director of LOCAL NEWS Couple who found love in lockdown Academic Programmes and Research tie knot in Gibraltar, ‘the new United at the University of Gibraltar. Darren Nations of marriage’

provided detailed historical evidence Thu 26th Nov, 2020 for the exploitation of marine OPINION & ANALYSIS resources in Gibraltar, noting that ‘Coronavirus is not the end of the “living on a rock that is almost entirely world’ https://www.chronicle.gi/the-calpe-conference-2020-a-personal-view/ 1/8 26/11/2020 The Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view living on a rock that is almost entirely surrounded by water, it comes as little Mon 20th Apr, 2020 surprise that the human inhabitants of

GibraltarHOME have tak en advLOCALantage NEWS of the BREXIT UK/SPAIN NEWS harvest provided by the sea for millenniaFEATURES”. SPORTS OPINION & ANALYSIS E-EDITION

From the time of Neanderthals to the present day, the sea has provided a rich diversity of resources: molluscs, sh, mammals, and more. But over- exploitation, pollution, climate change, and other factors are impacting on marine resources in a negative way. Darren spoke of ‘the shifting baseline’. This, a persistent downgrading of what are perceived as ‘normal’ environmental conditions with every new generation, leads to underestimations of true long-term change; and quoted the sheries scientist, Daniel Pauly, who in relation to sh stocks noted that “We transform the world, but we don’t remember it. We adjust our baseline to the new level, and we don’t recall what was there.”

Next was Clive Finlayson who had lectured the previous day about bird migration, concentrating on terrestrial and aquatic species. In this, the E-EDITION second lecture, Clive focused on Today's Paper coastal and pelagic species. He 26th November 2020 provided information on the migration patterns of these birds, noting that “the Strait of Gibraltar is peripheral to https://www.chronicle.gi/the-calpe-conference-2020-a-personal-view/ 2/8 26/11/2020 p p The Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view the main East Atlantic shorebird and seabird migration systems.” Adding that “the Strait’s main signicance lies HOME LOCAL NEWS BREXIT UK/SPAIN NEWS in the remaining colony of Mediterranean Shags on the Rock, and FEATURES SPORTS OPINION & ANALYSIS E-EDITION as its own feeding passage of Balearic Shearwaters . . . it also holds the largest source of Yellow- legged Gulls in the Western Mediterranean.”

Clive’s two presentations bring up to date our knowledge of bird migration in the region of the Strait of Gibraltar and situate what we observe in Gibraltar and the Strait in a wider geographical context, reecting the nature of migratory birds. He added that “what we learn at local level, within the framework of the annual cycle of migratory birds, is critical to our understanding of their biology” and in planning and managing conservation measures.

Marine surveillance monitoring is crucial to determine the environmental status of habitats. Stephen Warr from the Department of the Environment, https://www.chronicle.gi/the-calpe-conference-2020-a-personal-view/ 3/8 26/11/2020 p The Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view Sustainability, Climate Change, and Heritage; and the University of Gibraltar, explained that an increasing HOME LOCAL NEWS BREXIT UK/SPAIN NEWS number of International Conventions and European Union Directives require FEATURES SPORTS OPINION & ANALYSIS E-EDITION the regular monitoring of different marine ecosystems. He noted that British Gibraltar Territorial Waters encompass a small area and so surveillance is relatively easy to undertake. A range of descriptors are assessed as a part of the monitoring programme including “intertidal, benthic, and pelagic habitats as well as indicator marine species”.

These species range from threatened macrofauna such as limpets, to megafauna such as marine reptiles and cetaceans. Assessing the pressures and threats affecting ecosystems within the Gibraltar Marine Reserve is also encompassed by the work undertaken; with the establishment of a “dedicated Environmental Protection and Research Unit in 2014” having improved data collection, monitoring, and the enforcement of marine protection legislation. Stephen added that recent advances had been possible with the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and underwater surveillance equipment.

Next on was Lewis Stagnetto from the https://www.chronicle.gi/the-calpe-conference-2020-a-personal-view/ 4/8 26/11/2020 The Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view Nautilus Project and the University of Gibraltar. Lewis has an interest in how climate change affects the oceans and the orHOMEganisms in themLOCAL and is NEWS currently BREXIT UK/SPAIN NEWS researching changes in phytoplankton communitiesFEATURES in the StrSPORait ofT GibrS altar . OPINION & ANALYSIS E-EDITION “Phytoplankton are considered to be a key aspect of carbon exportation from the surface waters to marine sediments and could have huge impacts on future oceanic carbon chemistry”.

Environmental conditions are key in driving changes in communities and “understanding the physical parameters which are driving oceanic chemistry within the Strait of Gibraltar is fundamental in understanding the changes being observed in the biological communities.” He discussed work undertaken in the area during the last 50 years and presented some of his own data from his on-going PhD, noting he would be kept busy with chemical analyses and biological identications.

Unfortunately, the two scheduled nal lectures were not delivered. Geraldine Finlayson notied, having secured permission from them to do so, that Minister Cortes and Liesl Mesilio were unable to deliver their lectures due to Covid-19 self-isolation requirements. The nal day nished with two topics https://wwwfor.chronicle.gi/the-calpe-conference-2020-a-personal-view/discussion that emerged from 5/8 26/11/2020 The Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view for discussion that emerged from lectures: “How do we encourage young people to Natural History?”, and

“WildlifHOMEe photogr apherL OCALversus NEWS BREXIT UK/SPAIN NEWS photographer of wildlife”. In closing theFEA 24thTURES Calpe, Ger aldineSPOR thankTS ed OPINION & ANALYSIS E-EDITION everyone who had contributed to making the conference possible. The Gibraltar National Museum Team; the University of Gibraltar; catering at the Bistro Point Restaurant; and IT logistics from the University of Gibraltar IT Department, Fresh Entertainment, and Gibmedia.

And, of course, the Speakers and online audience. Leaving the Calpe venue, speakers contemplated on how different this year’s conference had been compared to previous ones. “Yes it was very strange,” one speaker noted, “but at least we powered through, and it happened; one to denitely remember”.

Additional memories to add to the recollection of 2020 in future years came from the traditional post- conference boat trip the following day, aboard the Dolphin Adventure. A small number of speakers and guests were treated to a wonderful four hours in the Bay of Gibraltar, taking in splendid views of the Rock and surrounds. Here was an opportunity to contemplate nature and marvel at pods of dolphins, breaching tuna, large gatherings of https://www.chronicle.gi/the-calpe-conference-2020-a-personal-view/ 6/8 26/11/2020breaching tuna, large gatherings ofThe Calpe Conference 2020: A personal view Cory’s Shearwaters feeding; of other species including Balearic Shearwaters, Great Skuas, Sandwich HOME LOCAL NEWS BREXIT UK/SPAIN NEWS Terns, and Northern Gannets. And an

astFEAonishingTURES sight: the larSPORgestTS of the OPINION & ANALYSIS E-EDITION toothed whales, the Cachalot, or Sperm Whale. Floating on the surface for a while, then majestically and effortlessly sliding into the depths.

FEATURES FEATURES FEATURES FEATURES Christmas spirit in a Heritage Trust Find your inner Check out these top shoebox Awards sees 10 explorer in the Dorset Christmas tree groups and countryside themes for 2020 individuals receive… 26th November 2020 26th November 2020 26th November 2020 26th November 2020

The Gibraltar Chronicle is a Register daily newspaper published Privacy Policy in Gibraltar since 1801. It is Gibraltar Chronicle one of the world's oldest (Newspaper) Ltd, English language Watergate House, newspapers to have been in Line Wall Road, print continuously. Our print https://wwwGib.chronicle.gi/the-calpe-conference-2020-a-personal-view/lt edition and e paper is 7/8