University of the Basque Country and Port Authority of Bilbao renew partnership agreement for biological monitoring of the port
La UPV/EHU y la Autoridad Portuaria de Bilbao renuevan su contrato de colaboración para la vigilancia biológica del puerto
The ample database obtained since 1994 reflects progressive improvement of flora and fauna in port waters in Abra Bay of Bilbao
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Basque Country
and the Chairman of the Port Authority
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Basque Country, Mr. Iñaki Goirizelaia, and the Chairman of the Port Authority of Bilbao, Mr. José Ramón de la Fuente, have signed a new partnership agreement to carry out the “Port of Bilbao Biological Monitoring Plan: Campaign 2011”.
The works will be carried out in the Plant Biology and Ecology, and Animal Cell Biology Departments of the University’s Science and Technology Faculty, under the guidance of Mr. José María Gorostiaga.
The Basque Country University will receive 86,106 euros from the Port Authority to carry out the project.
Objectives
The main objectives of the Biological Monitoring Plan are as follows:
To provide the Port of Bilbao with a rigorous scientific base of the biological state of the Port’s and its immediate surrounding ecosystem at all times.
To provide environmental assessment that will enable the Port Authority to apply, inasmuch as it can, a line of action that will respect the environment. In consequence, the Port Authority will be informed of possible corrective measures to reduce any impacts that may be produced on the Abra Bay’s ecosystem. In addition, information will be provided about the evolution of the biological communities present in new Port habitats – in rubble, breakwaters, secondary breakwaters and docks.
To assess possible damage that may be caused in the Abra ecosystem due to accidents, or to different port activities. The contribution of rigorous information based on scientific knowledge can avoid speculation about the impacts on the marine ecosystem in any such circumstances.
To assess the ecological status of the monitoring stations in the Abra Bay in accordance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which in 2015 will require all greatly modified water masses (as in port zones, for example) to achieve at least “good ecological potential”. This objective was introduced in the 2010 campaign for the first time.
Eighteen years of collaboration
The “Port of Bilbao Biological Monitoring Plan” came into operation in 1994 with a view to assessing and controlling the changes that may have been brought about in the ecosystem by the Port Extension Works in the Outer Abra, both during the different stages of their building as in the Port’s own commercial activity.
Since the plan was brought into operation, the University of the Basque Country has acquired through the study of space and seasonal differences (comparison of the biological communities between the different monitoring stations and annual changes respectively) an ample biological database on benthic flora and fauna from the Port zone and the rest of the Abra. Biological information has been complemented with information about the physical environment – light, salinity, muddiness and suspended solids.