Next year from 21st to 23rd of March, the city of Cádiz, in Andalucia, and the Strait of Gibraltar will be the venue for the 25th edition of the European Cetacean Society conference (ECS), organized by the European association CIRCE (Conservation, Information & Research on Cetaceans), which will gather an large number of the most important European scientists and researches. This is the first time this Spanish city is to host such an important event.

A Spanish city is selected again to be the venue of this conference due to the hard work Spanish researchers have been carrying out for the last twenty years in the field of cetology, making Cádiz the fifth Spanish city selected to be the venue of this conference. The first ECS conference in Spain was in 1990 in Palma de Mallorca, the second in Valencia in 1999, the third in Las Palmas in 2003 and the last in San Sebastián in 2007. The researches of the Strait of Gibraltar are represented by the CIRCE association as well as local entities dedicated to the study of cetaceans.

The event will take place at the “Palacio de Congresos de Cádiz” in March 2011, receiving about five hundred participants form forty different countries. During the conference that will last three days, the last results of the researches about marine mammals will be presented, through lectures and written works.

This event is also focused in promoting volunteering among young people, and for that reason, young people form any European country and Spanish community will have the chance to help the organizers during the conference, having the opportunity to meet many renowned international scientists.

Before this conference, a series of workshops about cetaceans’ study and conservation will take place, which will be conducted by specialists in each field. These activities will turn Cádiz and the Strait of Gibraltar in the point of reference for the marine mammals’ research in Europe.
Tourist promotion

After the congress, the participants will have the chance to make whale watching trips in the Gulf of Cádiz and the Strait of Gibraltar as well as tours to the “Parque Natural del Estrecho” (Strait’s Natural Park), the “Parque Natural de los Alcornocales” (Cork Oaks Natural Park) and the Baelo Claudia archeological complex in Tarifa.

The congress is not only intended to researchers and students but to public in general who will be able for two consecutive nights to attend to talks about cetaceans and watch a video about marine mammals with the purpose to promote conservational awareness about these animals.

The celebration of this congress is not only relevant for the scientists and researchers community but also for the promotion of whale watching ecotourism in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar. This way, the organizers are trying to make known one of the most important locations for whale watching in Europe, because in these waters can be found seven species of cetaceans, from fin back whales to dolphins, although the most popular species among tourists are the killer whales that can be seen in spring near the coastline of Cádiz and also in summer during the tuna fishing season.

This congress is a good opportunity for the Campo de Gibraltar community and for Cádiz to get known at an international level for its natural resources and for the marine life research that is carried out in different levels.