Counting all living beings from the sea, one by one

2003/10/27 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Ekologia

The first results of the Marine Census project have highlighted marine wealth. Already 15,300 species of marine fish have been identified and project managers have indicated that there are still thousands of unidentified species.

Researchers have been working for three years. The objective is to identify all marine animals, plants and microorganisms by 2010, recognizing that they have a huge job. Since the launch of the project, 300 researchers from 53 countries have worked and delivered their first results at a conference in Washington.

The main objective of the project is to analyze the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine living beings and subsequently create a marine atlas. The atlas will explain, among other things, where each species lives and in what situation it is. But researchers have recognized that it will take many years to describe all species, even decades or centuries, although they will use the most current techniques to study the sea: sensors applied to fish, genetic tests, new automatic underwater boats... It is clear that they will be able to explore places and species hitherto inaccessible to humans.