Oceana’s catamaran Ranger set out last week on their 2009 expedition which is to carry out two months of marine research in the Canary Island Archipelago. The study is in collaboration with the Fundación Biodiversidad and they will study the local seabeds to propose which new areas are ideal for marine protection. Spain is required by the United Nations to protect 10% of its marine environment by the year 2012, the information gathered by the Oceana team who have already studied the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula will help to determine which areas should be included.
Ricardo Aguilar, Director of Research at Oceana Europe and coordinator of this expedition, explains, "Most of the Canary Islands seabeds remain unexplored since the continental shelf is small and quickly drops down to 3,000 meters. This makes it complicated to know their state of conservation or identify areas of key importance in terms of marine ecology. The Ranger expedition will sail around the main islands to evaluate the state of the already-protected areas, detect risk factors and identify new areas that deserve protection. The difference from other projects is that images will be taken and information will be compiled about places that, up to now, have never been studied."
The team from Oceana will dive around all of the seven islands to photograph and film depths up to 40 meters, any deeper than this and the underwater robot (ROV) will be launched, the robot transmits images in real time to the boat, ROV will cover depths up to 500 meters. The photographs and video from the dives will then be added to a database collecting information about the species found and the habitat so that a scientific report can be compiled on the condition of the marine ecosystems in the Canary Islands.
Currently the Canaries have three Marina Reserves, and a new one is being created in La Gomera:
Lanzarote, La Graciosa, Archipielago Chinjio (70,700 hectares)
El Hierro, Punta La Restinga, Mar de Las Calmas (750 hectares)
La Palma (3,719 hectares)
Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans, they have teams consisting of marine scientists, economists and lawyers to help them with this role. In this region, Oceana were successful in their campaign to stop bottom trawling fishing practices in an area of 650,000 km2 around the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores.
On board the Ranger for the Canary Island 2009 expedition is the following team:
Ricardo Silvia Nuño Carlos
Coordinator Marine Scientist Captain Chief Mate
Mario Justino José
Deckhand Deckhand Cook
Thierry Carlos Gorka Eduardo
Diving Team Underwater Underwater Safety Diver
Coordinator Photographer Videographer
Another Oceana programme in collaboration with SECAC (Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canarian Archipelago) which involved fixing satellite tags to ten turtles. The loggerhead turtles (caretta caretta) are the ones most commonly found in European water, these tags have been fixed so that they can study the life of the turtle over the year and try to understand why over the past six years, there has been a severe drop so that only half the number of turtles now return to Florida to reproduce. The Loggerhead turtle start reproducing once they are 15 years old with a shell measuring 80cm or more, the tags were placed on a selection of turtles between 33 and 70cm in length. The scientists will be able to follow their movements on a daily basis as well as discovering their preferences with regard to feeding depths and hours of activity throughout the day. Each time the turtle surfaces to breathe, the tag will emit a signal back to Oceana’s headquarters, the tag will function for approximately one year. A similar study was also completed in the Balearic Islands too, its estimated that around 40,000 of turtles are caught by accident by the Mediterranean fishing fleet each year. Many of the Loggerhead turtles are born on the coasts of the United States and the Carribbean, they then set off on a transatlantic migration to the Mediterranean, the tags will help to understand where these turtles live during their sub adult life before they make the incredible journey back to reproduce.
Ricardo Aguilar, Director of Research at Oceana Europe and coordinator of this expedition, explains, "Most of the Canary Islands seabeds remain unexplored since the continental shelf is small and quickly drops down to 3,000 meters. This makes it complicated to know their state of conservation or identify areas of key importance in terms of marine ecology. The Ranger expedition will sail around the main islands to evaluate the state of the already-protected areas, detect risk factors and identify new areas that deserve protection. The difference from other projects is that images will be taken and information will be compiled about places that, up to now, have never been studied." 
The team from Oceana will dive around all of the seven islands to photograph and film depths up to 40 meters, any deeper than this and the underwater robot (ROV) will be launched, the robot transmits images in real time to the boat, ROV will cover depths up to 500 meters. The photographs and video from the dives will then be added to a database collecting information about the species found and the habitat so that a scientific report can be compiled on the condition of the marine ecosystems in the Canary Islands. 
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