The video presents real situations and reports on the recommended behavior: do not touch or try to return the animal to the water, keep a distance and immediately alert 112, phone with which the response protocol of the network is activated. This alliance between citizens, universities, recovery centers and the Administration is committed to a close and well-founded visual communication to promote collective commitment. The objective is to promote a responsible, safe and effective public response to preserve the life of these species in addition to studying and protecting our marine biodiversity.
Juan Antonio Raga Esteve, Professor of Zoology at the University of Valencia, entity that drives this video, indicates: "With this video we want anyone to know what to do when stranded, because responsible action can make the difference between the life and death of a marine animal, in addition to being very important for collecting data that allow us to know more about these species and propose the best protection and conservation measures".
"With this video we want anyone to know what to do when stranded, because responsible action can make the difference between the life and death of a marine animal, besides being very important for the collection of data that allow us to know more about these species and propose the best protection and conservation measures", Juan Antonio Raga Esteve, Professor of Zoology at the University of Valencia
This audiovisual resource is part of UV’s strategy for active and socially participatory awareness raising. The message is clear: a call can save lives, contribute to research and strengthen marine ecosystem conservation. The video will be available on the networks of the University of Valencia and other collaborating entities, with special dissemination in social networks and digital media.
Since its creation in 1988, as a result of the collaboration between the Generalitat Valenciana and the University of Valencia, the Stranding Network has served more than 1,500 cetaceans and 2,100 turtles, in addition to other species such as endangered elasmobranchs. Between 2022 and 2025, the VARACOMVAL project, co-financed by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge under the NextGenerationEU Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, strengthens this system by collecting biological samples, Analyzing causes of stranding and protecting nesting processes of sea turtles.
This project is developed by the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (ICBiBE), located in the scientific-academic area of the University of Valencia Science Park (PCUV), together with the group Research Group in Marine Zoology (ZOOMAR) of the University of Valencia.
This Network has woven a network of alliances and collaborations. At present this network is made up of the Zoology Unit of the University of Valencia, the Wildlife Service and Natura 2000 Network and the Fisheries Service of the Ministry for the Environment, Infrastructure and Territory, the Emergency Service of the Directorate-General for the Interior, the Oceanogràfic Foundation and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Thanks to initiatives such as VARACOMVAL, this spring, a worrying upsurge was detected in strandings of mantas (Mobula mobular), an endangered species, with about 20 cases recorded in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands. This has led to the creation of a working group to carry out pathological and environmental analyses and to stress the need for citizens to alert 112 immediately without intervening directly with animals.
Source: Valencian Community Stranding Network- ICBiBE