Cuban scientists have undertaken an expedition to the Jardines de la Reina national park with the purpose of learning more about this marine protected area, which has gained recognised prestige in the world for its high levels of fish biomass and its healthy shark populations.

Armando Rodríguez Batista, Minister of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma) informed on his new profile on the social network Facebook that the “spillover effect” of this protected area on the adjacent zones in relation to various fish species is also significant.

He indicated that it constitutes one of the functions of such zones, in this case with benefits to the fisheries from Júcaro, in Ciego de Ávila, and Santa Cruz, in Camagüey.

In this new expedition, he added, very young scientists from the environmental studies centres of the provinces Villa Clara (CESAM: Centre for Environmental Studies of Villa Clara), Ciego de Ávila (CIEC: Centre for Coastal Ecosystem Research) and Camagüey (CIMAC, Camagüey Centre for Environmental Research), and the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humankind are participating.

Also other experienced Cuban researchers, with extensive life works dedicated to marine sciences, among them, Doctor of science José Espinosa (Pepe).

“We will be aware of the incidents and results of this expedition, and we will share them through this page. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the creation of the Jardines de la Reina national park and almost 30 years of the marine reserve,” affirmed Rodríguez Batista.