Mysterious and immense, the big blue that lies off the shores of Abama is giving us, for the first time, a glimpse of its secrets and incredible inhabitants. Under the direction of renowned underwater photographer Francis Pérez and with the collaboration of other members of his Pelagic Life Canarias association, this week's presentation of our Abama Blue Ocean book has given us a beautiful project that immortalises the incredible biodiversity of the Franja Marina Teno-Rasca, hidden just in front of our exclusive residential community between the southwest coast of Tenerife and the island of La Gomera. Created by Abama Resort Tenerife with the sponsorship of Oris Spain and the Government of Guía de Isora, the book is also a call to action for the preservation of this unique natural heritage threatened by human activity.
The Museum of Nature and Archaeology of Tenerife (MUNA) was the venue this week for the presentation of the book, and featured a roundtable with the representatives of the companies and institutions that collaborated on the project: Francis Pérez, the president and founder of Pelagic Life Canarias; the vice president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Lope Afonso; the Culture Minister of the Government of Guía de Isora, Carlos Javier Álvarez; the general manager of the Tropical Hoteles Group (Abama Resort Tenerife), Rafael Noblejas; and the director of the MUNA, Fátima Hernández.
The work includes 50 photographs that collect more than 30 years of work by important underwater photographers such as Eduardo Acevedo, Montse Grillo, Marcos Latorre, Joaquín Gutierrez, Rogelio Herrera and Francis Pérez himself, who has had his photographs on the cover of international media such as National Geographic and won the prestigious WORLD PRESS PHOTO award. In addition, the book explains the conservation work under way in the area, which is the first Cetacean Heritage Site in Europe and the place with the largest resident population of pilot whales on the continent. A species that, in the words of Pérez, has seen its population reduced by 50% in recent years due to "collisions with ships due to the high maritime traffic, the high cortisol levels of pilot whales, plastics and noise pollution." The second part of Abama Blue Ocean is devoted to the principal research being done by organisations such as Asociación Tonina, the BIOECOMAC organisation, linked to the University of La Laguna, and the ECOAQUA Institute of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Among its deep blue pages, populated with elegant silver-skinned cetaceans, Abama Blue Ocean also includes delicate - and striking - images of turtles, sharks and siphonophores that highlight why the Franja Marina Teno-Rasca is the only whale sanctuary in the European Union and the third-most important in the world. Included in the Natura 2000 Network, the European Union's main tool for the protection of biodiversity, this book is the first publishing initiative aimed at preserving and enhancing the value of the incredible natural heritage just a few metres from our residential community.
Because Abama's raison d'être is intimately tied to its founders' fascination with Tenerife's environment, Abama Resort has maintained an unwavering commitment to sustainability and the preservation of the social, cultural and natural heritage of Tenerife and Guía de Isora since its foundation in 2003. In his role as the driving force behind this work, Rafael Noblejas, the General Manager of the business group that owns Abama Resort Tenerife, Tropical Hoteles, spoke during the presentation about the organisation's commitment not only to environmental sustainability, but also to social and economic sustainability.
Proud of the result of this wonderful editorial project, Abama Resort Tenerife would like to encourage you to contribute to the project by purchasing the publication - €10 euros of its price will go directly to Pelagic Life Canarias and Asociación Tonina - and/or collaborating with a donation to Pelagic Life Canarias. You can contact them at pelagiclifecanariaseuropa@gmail.com.
