The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, in collaboration with Ocean Ecostructures, has held an informative session focused on marine biodiversity, scientific monitoring, and technological innovation applied to the regeneration of ecosystems in port environments.
The activity has been developed coinciding with the latest monitoring of the Life Boosting Units® installed by the Port Authority, and has involved the participation of students from the Environmental Education and Control training cycle at IES El Getares.
The event combined a theoretical session with a practical part, allowing attendees to learn on-site how science, technology, and innovation can be integrated into port spaces to contribute to marine renaturalization.
Students have shown interest in this type of initiative and have actively participated in the proposed activities. Additionally, they have valued the opportunity to learn about real applications of the content they study in class. According to the provided information, many of them have expressed their surprise at the biodiversity present in the waters of the Port of Algeciras, an experience that has contributed to increasing their awareness and understanding the potential of such innovative solutions.
The Life Boosting Units® replicate the functioning of natural reefs and promote the development of marine biodiversity in their environment. The project, which integrates marine regeneration, robotics, and artificial intelligence, began in 2024 with the installation of six units along the Ribera Walk, aiming to facilitate the transition from gray to green infrastructure in the area of the Port of Algeciras.
The accumulated data to date shows a positive evolution of the monitored environmental indicators, with up to 69 different species identified, representing a 64% increase compared to the initial situation. These results demonstrate the potential of these solutions and have led to considering the expansion of the project after the obtained results.
With this initiative, the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras maintains its commitment to sustainability, environmental education, and talent management in the Campo de Gibraltar, bringing these young people the innovative solutions being applied in their environment and showing that it is possible to reconcile port activity with marine environment protection and regeneration.
The collaboration with Ocean Ecostructures also allows the educational community to have a real experience of blue entrepreneurship and innovation. The event has presented this type of initiative as a professional pathway linked to sustainability and the application of technologies to transform port infrastructures into spaces capable of promoting marine biodiversity.