Are there controls on the waters in the port of Las Palmas and the waste generated by the oil platforms operated by Greek and Basque businessmen? The marine ecosystems of southern Gran Canaria, true treasures of Atlantic biodiversity, face a silent and rapid threat: the arrival and expansion of invasive coral species transported by global maritime traffic, specifically the oil platforms in the port of Las Palmas, where there is no obligation to implement control procedures, unlike what happens in Tenerife.
A study, published in the journal of the Tenerife Natural Sciences Museum, documents for the first time the presence of two foreign coral species in the archipelago: Tubastraea coccinea and Oculina patagonica. The work, led by Alberto Brito of the Marine Sciences Unit of the University of La Laguna (ULL) and with the collaboration of other institutions, confirms a hypothesis already explored with tropical fish: oil platforms act as "authentic artificial reefs" that travel thousands of miles. These enormous structures, which dock for long periods in the major Canary Islands ports (mainly La Luz in Las Palmas) for repair or waiting, have inoculated the fauna of their places of origin. Tubastrea coccinea: A coral native to the Pacific and adapted to tropical waters.
The Patagonian oculina is a coral of South American origin, never before seen in the eastern Atlantic, although it has already raised alarms in the Mediterranean due to its rapid expansion. The alarm is particularly intense in Gran Canaria due to the widespread capacity demonstrated by the Tubastraea coccinea. This species has not been limited to the walls of the docks of Puerto de La Luz (Las Palmas), but has managed to expand beyond the docks to the south of the island. Colonies have been detected on the seabed of El Cabrón (Agüimes), 30 kilometers to the south, near tourist areas with high biological diversity.
Regarding Oculina patagonica, although for now its two colonies are limited to the port of La Luz (on the docks and on Las Alcaravaneras beach), its potential for invasion in a sea with "optimal conditions" is a latent concern, given its aggressiveness in the Mediterranean. Researchers point out that massive colonization is related to the arrival of platforms beginning in 2011, from tropical areas such as Brazil, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Indo-Pacific. Experts warn that the presence of these corals "will modify the structure of the benthic communities" in the Canary Islands, with Tubastraea showing great potential to "invade" and cover the seabed in high densities, which seriously threatens the balance of the island's marine ecosystem.
