Exklusively for zoos.media – 22.05.2021. Author: Philipp J. Kroiß
The large aquarium Poema del Mar is now a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The article looks at the aquarium and its commitment to comprehensive conservation.
Poema del Mar is now a WAZA member
The renowned aquarium Poema del Mar, which is located on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, has now officially become a member of the WAZA. Patricia Campos, Technical Director and Curator of the aquarium, explained that it is a great honour to be a part of the WAZA, a global alliance in which everyone shares the same goal: conservation. Poema del Mar comprises multiple installations that house 450 species covering an area of 12,500 square metres, recreating 35 marine and river ecosystems. The aquarium holds the largest curved glass window of any aquarium worldwide: 36 metres wide and 7 metres tall.
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The aquarium brings people closer to animals
It is not only thanks to this window that visitors can feel as if they were in the animals’ habitat. We have already visited the aquarium and created a playlist about it:
The playlist begins with a tour through the entire aquarium, and then it looks at individual aspects and husbandries. Nature and species conservation, as well as sustainability, are the focus of the aquarium. In this regard, Poema del Mar also cooperates with the Loro Parque Foundation, which is especially dedicated to preserving Canarian waters. As part of this commitment, the Foundation has established a state-of-the-art network to monitor the ocean so as to assess climate change, acidification of the oceans and underwater noise in the Canary Islands, known as the CanBIO-Project. The data obtained will then be used as a foundation for conservational work.
Nature, animal, and species conservation in situ and ex situ
Poema del Mar is active in situ, i.e. in the animals’ habitats, to protect, for instance, the habitat ocean and the species living in it as comprehensively as possible. One example is the care for sea turtles in distress:
The aquarium also engages in the protection of butterfly rays:
This commitment continued all the way through the closure owed to the political decisions made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the aquarium has been able to reopen:
In addition to the WAZA membership, the aquarium is also a member of the Iberian Zoo Association (AIZA).
