Havana, Cuba.- The 11th Congress on Marine Sciences began on Monday in Havana with the participation of experts from Latin America, Europe and the United States, engaged in the study of maritime protection and the proper use of the species living there.

Biologists, zoologists, oceanographers and other specialists from Cuba, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile and Portugal will examine a wide agenda until Friday, October 19, at Havana’s Conference Center, under the motto ‘Today’s sciences in the interest of future coasts and seas’.

Issues such as climate change, human impacts and risk management, conservation and biodiversity, maritime-recreational development, and biotechnology and food security will be addressed at MarCuba 2018.

Professionals linked to observation systems, coastal and marine services and technologies will participate in symposiums and workshops, related to the environmental education, protected areas, ecosystem management, the restoration of coral reefs and ocean connectivity.

Sponsored by the Cuban Environment Agency, the Fisheries Research Center, and the Institute of Marine Sciences, among others, the congress hosts prestigious institutions, among them the International Oceanographic Committee, the Florida Aquarium and the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, in the United States.

As part of the event, an Associated Exhibition Fair, ExpoMar 2018, will take place. There, participants could appreciate the main scientific results, services and technologies related to marine sciences of the exhibiting entities.

MarCuba 2018 is a favorable occasion to expose the main challenges of these ecosystems, which make up much of the Earth’s surface and are essential in the development of humanity.