Fundación Oceanogràfic and the Red Cross raise awareness about strandings on six beaches in the Valencian Community
- The Spanish Red Cross and the Fundación Oceanogràfic today presented in Gandia the first outreach campaign on the beaches of the Valencian Community dedicated to assisting stranded marine animals.
- The activity includes training for aquatic lifeguards, maritime rescue personnel, and environmental volunteers from the Red Cross, as well as on-site simulations to raise awareness among the public.
Valencia, July 6, 2017
Fundación Oceanogràfic and the Spanish Red Cross today, Thursday, July 6, presented the marine animal stranding awareness campaign throughout the Valencian Community on Gandia Beach. During the morning, specialists from both entities organized intervention simulations with cetaceans or turtles, an exhibition of biological samples, and distributed informative material to bathers on Gandia beach.
The first of the six sessions planned in the Valencian Community for the month of July was held on the North Beach of Gandía. The objective of the campaign is to showcase the biological richness and its current state in the Mediterranean, to emphasize the presence of certain emblematic species such as sea turtles and dolphins, as well as to raise awareness among citizens about threats of human origin, and the actions that the public can take if they encounter a stranding.
This was announced at the presentation of the campaign held in Gandia by the president of the Spanish Red Cross in the Valencian Community, Francisco Javier Gimeno, and the head of conservation projects at the Oceanogràfic of Valencia. The event was also attended by representatives of the Gandia City Council the Councilor for Beaches and Basic Services to Citizens and Urban Quality, Miguel Ángel Picornell, and the Councilor for Responsible Land Management, Xavier Ródenas, along with the provincial president of the Spanish Red Cross in Valencia, Rafael Gandía, and the president of the Institution in Gandia, Toni Martí, among other top officials.
The regional head Francisco Javier Gimeno stated in the presentation that the Spanish Red Cross is committed to this project to contribute to the improvement of our environment and to act so that environmental deterioration does not affect the most vulnerable people.
José Luís Crespo drew attention to the importance for the health of the stranded animal that the guidelines indicated in this campaign are respected, such as not handling or overwhelming it, keeping it moist with a cloth and, in the case of dolphins, not covering its blowhole and immediately notifying the Red Cross at the post or, if that is not possible, calling 112, which activates the stranding network.
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