Laura G. Peteiro é, currently, the responsible of the unit of Internacionalización and Transferencia of the Knowledge of IIM (IACIC).
With todo, the its vida estivo, and segue the estar, moi unida á natureza and á research activa. a work investigadora that comezou in the group “EsMaBa” of IIM, pouco despois daquel Wednesday in the that the Prestige pedía auxilio.
Co recordo of the Sea Exeo aínda recente, Laura púxose mans á obra for evitar that the consecuencias of the vertido foran the more, formando starts from desa marea branca that salvou, en moitos sentidos, the coast Galician.
the that te dedicabas in the days previos to the afundimento of the Prestige?
Pois eu acababa of rematar Bioloxía in the University of the Coruña, and estaba facendo uns cursiños mentres mandaba CVs by aquí and by acolá.
the soubeches of the afundimento? Lembras the that pensaches nese momento? the was cambiando the túa percepción of the problema co paso of the days?
Estaba cun amigo nunha cafetería the 13 of November and escoitámolo in the televisión, thus that fomos directos á Beach of Sabón, cerca of the Coruña, for ver se era verdade or non that viña the chapapote. and thus the vimos. the ondas chegaban manchadas, traendo cada vez more negrura second ía subindo the marea; incluso nós rematamos of chapapote until the xeonllos, subimos the a pedra tentando evitar the ondas. Was moi triste, and irreal to the mesmo tempo.
Sendo nós of the Coruña xa in the tocara vivir also the Sea Exeo, lembrabámonos perfectamente. Había exactamente 10 years, en 1992, anuláranse the clases of the institutos of Secundaria of toda the cidade and baixabamos todos en manda for ver aquela imaxe also irreal of the nube of fume Black diante of the Torre of Hércules… semellaba imposible that repetira the history outra vez.
the cambiou the teu work the afundimento and the posterior marea negra? Notouse a cambio in the day the day of IIM and of the teu group?
the verdade é that the accidente of the Prestige cambiou of inmediato the meu day the day. Comecei the collaborate the voluntaria, identificando and clasificando the aves ‘petroleadas’ that chegaban the coast. Lembro the pronto that amontoaba in the contedores the pesar of traballarmos of Monday the Sunday, and of the tomorrow the noite. Estivemos thus moitos months porque isto non was cousa dun day nin of dúas weeks; a vez afundido the boat, continuou deitando fuel moitos months.
the partir desta experiencia comecei the traballar in the ONG SEO/BirdLife, and pouco despois in IIM.
in the Institute estudiabamos the efectos that podía ter the derrame of cru in the aquaculture of the mexillón en Galicia. Basicamente analizabamos the se comportaba, en farming, the semente of mexillón that viña of areas afectadas polo chapapote and comparabámolo coa semente that viña of areas that salvaran of the envite.
With respecto to the teu work specifically en relación co afundimento, the that conclusións che allowed chegar?
Polo meu work in IIM comprobamos the semente of mexillón that viña of the areas more afectadas polo derrame non rendía of the mesmo xeito in the farming, tanto in the seu crecemento the in the its composición bioquímica. By tanto, concluímos that the estrés that sufriu the mexillón by causa of the derrame tivo efectos non mortais pero that estenderon in the tempo. a efecto that was moito more alá of the that cuantificou cas medidas of mortalidade nun first momento.
in the tocante to the meu work with aves marine, rexistramos more of 23.000 aves afectadas in the seis months seguintes to the accidente, between Spain, Portugal and Francia. This cifra supón unicamente between the 10 or the 20% of the totais that puideron ver afectadas realmente. the that sufriron the peor starts from were the aves that veñen pasar the inverno in the coast Galician dende the colonias británicas: the arao common (Uria aalgae), the carolo (Alca torda) and the arao papagaio or ‘frailecillo’ (Fratercula arctica) .
the resposta scientific, social and política
Dende the túa perspectiva actual, that aportou the science during the crise of the Prestige? Tívose en conta the knowledge scientific in the toma of decisións?
Eu penso that nun first momento the criterio scientific was ignorado, and by iso se andou the danzar co boat of norte the sur. Pero noutros casos si that favoreceu that the community scientific avaliase the impact on the marine environment and contribuíse in the medidas of recuperación.
the valoras the resposta that lle deu á crise dende the administración?
Of new penso that the primeira intención dende the administración was ocultar the feitos and facer ver that non era a crise ambiental real, that todo estaba baixo control. By sorte, the realidade é teimuda and the mentira mantívose moi pouco tempo.
and the resposta citizen and the limpezas that realizaron in the praias? Were determinantes á hour of paliar the consecuencias of the mareas negras?
Is claro. the society respondeu cunha solidariedade abafante, tomando the pulso that the authorities pertinentes non were capaces of tomar. Reaccionouse rápido and contundentemente for parar the marea, limpar the praias, axudar ás aves marine and, en general, sinalar the realidade and tomar acción.
the impact, the recuperación and the future
Dende the teu eido of estudo, cales were the principais impactos that tivo the Prestige for the marine environment and the coast? Cres that coñecemos, realmente, the alcance of the impact?
in the years consecutivos á traxedia repetimos the mesmo estudo the semente of mexillón procedente of areas more afectadas and, the verdade, xa non detectamos ningunha diferenza coa that proviña doutras areas. Thus that polo menos for the mexillón, non creo that poidamos dicir that houbera a efecto the longo prazo.
Isto non quere dicir that the impact for the ecosistema non fose greater; non podemos coñecer the that non se estuda. By exemplo, in the caso of the aves marine sabemos of the perda of the última parella of arao common that nidificaba en Galicia. Moitos din that xa non tiña moito future pero pode that the Prestige fora the gota that rebordou the vaso.
that precisaríamos for evitar, of new, a accidente coma this? and for evitar the their consecuencias?
Hai new medidas of seguridade en canto the transporte marítimo, that deben of ser estritamente respectadas.
that pode aportar the science en futuras crises?
the science pode aportar knowledge and metodoloxías that melloren the protocolos for that podamos proceder mellor ante catástrofes similares.