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Las Terrazas de Abama hosts a talk by underwater photographer Francis Pérez
11/10/2022
Events
This activist from Tenerife, winner of the World Press Photo 2017, declared in a talk given at Las Terrazas de Abama Suites hotel in Guía de Isora, that we need to preserve the fragile whale corridor in the Abama strip, that hosts the largest population of pilot whales in Europe
The underwater photographer and video cameraman from Tenerife, Francis Pérez, author of striking images that have reached the front page of National Geographic and won him the World Press Photo 2017 in the Nature category, has become an ambassador for protection of the lives of maritime fauna in the oceans.
The islands have various marine reserves in La Palma, El Hierro, La Graciosa and Lanzarote, and there are also a further twenty areas catalogued as Special Protection Zones of the Natura 2000 network, or Sites of Community Importance (SIC), the majority areas adjoining the coast: beaches, bays or seaweed meadows.
Francis reminded the listeners that the strip is located within the Playa de Abama Bay environment and is especially important as a whale corridor, although Tenerife does not have any maritime reserves. “Its present status is not enough to protect them”, he points out.
Through his profession and the impact his photographs have had, Pérez has gravitated toward oceanographic activism, inspired by his admired Sylvia Earle, “the Cousteau nobody knows, but who was diving down to a depth of 1,000 metres the same year that man reached the moon”. The octogenarian oceanographer has spent her whole life trying to protect the oceans from the harm caused by human footprint. Pérez provided the cover illustration for the book by Earle “Blue Hope” published by National Geographic, and his snap of a bank of blue jack mackerels taken a few miles off the coast of Los Gigantes travelled around the world. His work has provided a platform to create awareness of the marine biodiversity in the Canary Islands.
Francis Pérez feels especially attached to pilot whales. The sea located in the Abama strip hosts the largest population of this species in the whole of Europe. “They travel in groups of ten to twelve individuals and have a matriarchal social organisation: the grandmothers and mothers play the main role in the group”.
His most recent project is as Photographic Director of Collision, a documentary that will soon be launched, involving international experts, and that promotes the need to seek alternatives so maritime traffic does not endanger sea life. “It is an issue in which we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, because the creatures that die do not reach the coast, but rather sink to the bottom. Shipping companies are seeking alternatives, from changing their routes to reducing their speed. Solutions must be sought”, he declared.
Pérez explained these experiences within the setting of the latest edition of the Owners Cup, with the theme ‘Back to the Roots’ that hosted a gathering this October of owners of luxury residences at Abama Resort in Guía de Isora, to enjoy a golf tournament and a full programme of cultural, gastronomic and sporting activities, which are aligned with the destination strategy of contributing to encourage actions that raise awareness of protecting the environment.
The underwater photographer and video cameraman from Tenerife, Francis Pérez, author of striking images that have reached the front page of National Geographic and won him the World Press Photo 2017 in the Nature category, has become an ambassador for protection of the lives of maritime fauna in the oceans.
The islands have various marine reserves in La Palma, El Hierro, La Graciosa and Lanzarote, and there are also a further twenty areas catalogued as Special Protection Zones of the Natura 2000 network, or Sites of Community Importance (SIC), the majority areas adjoining the coast: beaches, bays or seaweed meadows.
Francis reminded the listeners that the strip is located within the Playa de Abama Bay environment and is especially important as a whale corridor, although Tenerife does not have any maritime reserves. “Its present status is not enough to protect them”, he points out.
Through his profession and the impact his photographs have had, Pérez has gravitated toward oceanographic activism, inspired by his admired Sylvia Earle, “the Cousteau nobody knows, but who was diving down to a depth of 1,000 metres the same year that man reached the moon”. The octogenarian oceanographer has spent her whole life trying to protect the oceans from the harm caused by human footprint. Pérez provided the cover illustration for the book by Earle “Blue Hope” published by National Geographic, and his snap of a bank of blue jack mackerels taken a few miles off the coast of Los Gigantes travelled around the world. His work has provided a platform to create awareness of the marine biodiversity in the Canary Islands.
Francis Pérez feels especially attached to pilot whales. The sea located in the Abama strip hosts the largest population of this species in the whole of Europe. “They travel in groups of ten to twelve individuals and have a matriarchal social organisation: the grandmothers and mothers play the main role in the group”.
His most recent project is as Photographic Director of Collision, a documentary that will soon be launched, involving international experts, and that promotes the need to seek alternatives so maritime traffic does not endanger sea life. “It is an issue in which we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, because the creatures that die do not reach the coast, but rather sink to the bottom. Shipping companies are seeking alternatives, from changing their routes to reducing their speed. Solutions must be sought”, he declared.
Pérez explained these experiences within the setting of the latest edition of the Owners Cup, with the theme ‘Back to the Roots’ that hosted a gathering this October of owners of luxury residences at Abama Resort in Guía de Isora, to enjoy a golf tournament and a full programme of cultural, gastronomic and sporting activities, which are aligned with the destination strategy of contributing to encourage actions that raise awareness of protecting the environment.
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