ECOMARCAN, developed by Cartográfica de Canarias, S.A. (GRAFCAN) under commission from the Canary Islands Government's Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy, collects, organizes, analyzes, and disseminates data on the archipelago's marine ecosystems. Its goal is to improve access to information and facilitate knowledge-based decision-making.
Mariano Hernández Zapata highlighted that ECOMARCAN is part of the digital services of the Canary Islands Natural Inventory Bank (BIOCAN), promoted by the Ministry and co-financed by the Canarias FEDER 2021-2027 Programme. The commission to GRAFCAN enables the integration and cartographic representation of information, facilitating the consultation of environmental and oceanographic variables and the identification of patterns or anomalies relevant for marine conservation.
The platform integrates information from scientific projects, environmental monitoring programs, and ecological and oceanographic data sources. The Canary Islands Marine Monitoring System (SMM) is one of its main workstreams, combining remote sensing with oceanographic and atmospheric data. It currently processes data from 17 satellites from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the USGS, as well as from the European Copernicus program.
ECOMARCAN enables the monitoring of oceanographic conditions, tracking of Trichodesmium blooms and sargassum accumulations, and supports the analysis of potential marine climate refugia. It provides information on sea surface temperature since 1982 and marine heatwaves, helping specialists evaluate areas for the conservation of threatened species.
The tool is aimed at public administrations, technical staff, the scientific community, and other marine management stakeholders, and offers much of its content to the public, ensuring interoperability and accessibility.
To facilitate understanding, three outreach activities will be held in November 2026: a talk on November 10th at the Archaeological Museum Benahoarita in Los Llanos de Aridane (La Palma), and two free webinars on November 12th and 23rd focusing on the use and applications of ECOMARCAN and the Canary Islands Marine Monitoring System.
