• This is a pioneering initiative in the field of science, which addresses the conservation and improvement of the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, and falls within the collaboration agreement between both entities
• The first experimental planting was recently carried out in Talamanca Bay (Ibiza)

Red Eléctrica de España and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB) will, in the next few days, carry out the first replanting of Posidonia oceanica on the seabed in Santa Ponsa Bay (Majorca). This planting is the next phase in the project following the experimental planting recently carried out in the Talamanca Bay in Ibiza.

The Head of Red Eléctrica’s R&D+i and European Projects Department:, Vicente González, and the researcher from IMEDEA and chief scientist of the project, Jorge Terrados, today presented and explained the project, included in the agreement signed in 2013 between the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), of which IMEDEA is a member, and Red Eléctrica, in order to influence the conservation and improvement of Posidonia oceanica, whose colonies form seagrass meadows of high ecological value for Mediterranean sea ecosystems.

The financial contribution of Red Eléctrica to this project totals 409,000 euros, an amount earmarked for the scientific development of said project, the maintenance of the germination nurseries and for the contracting of the work necessary to carry out the planting actions.

This initiative, whose main objective is to repopulate the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, is noteworthy for its absolutely pioneering nature, because there is no precedent in the use of seeds and fragments germinated outside of the sea or even in laboratory conditions for its subsequent planting in its natural environment.

To accomplish this, seeds and fragments of the species are collected to then proceed to their laboratory cultivation, in nurseries housed in the Interpretation Centre of the Natural Park of Cabrera located in Colònia de Sant Jordi, and submerged in the sea in trays off the coast of Formentera. In both cases, the typical water and amount of light conditions, as well as other aspects and conditions are monitored to determine the survival rate and then proceed with its replanting in the sea.

The methodology and the conclusions that emerge from this experience will serve to validate an innovative project of particular importance for the recovery and conservation of Posidonia meadows.

This R&D+i project is part of Red Eléctrica’s strategic commitment to excellence, sustainable development and protection of biodiversity and the environment. It is associated with the development of the submarine electricity interconnections between Ibiza-Majorca and Ibiza-Formentera (in the Balearic Islands), that will unify the electricity systems of the island's, and the interconnection link between Majorca and the Spanish Peninsula, that connects the Balearic Islands with the Spanish peninsula and the European electricity systems, with the associated advantages related to the security of supply, cost savings for the electricity system and the reduction of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere.

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