Scientists and ‘Mermaid’ want to save Biscayne Bay in Miami

Raising awareness of danger is the end of the winning videos for a competition highlighting the wonders of this marine environment with the participation of two scientists and the “mermaid” who lives in the bay.

This is the Save the Bay initiative, a contest for public service announcements in video format of approximately 60 seconds win result Five filmmakers contribute their artistic vision to “save” the Bay of Biscay.

Today the five video clips awarded in the competition organized by the Oolite Arts Center with the support of the county authorities were shown in the presence of the filmmakers who were deeply involved in the defense and protection of this beautiful 56-kilometre bay. height and 13 wide, ideal for water sports.

“Our lives are deeply intertwined with the Gulf: we are one and the same,” Miami-based Iranian-American director and scientist Shirin Rahimi told Efe.

Rahmi’s video adds, “What happened to the Gulf?” An emotional and physical connection to the Biscayne Bay ecosystem and the role it plays in the story of our lives. scuba diver NS Photographer Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Miami (UM).

She asserts that filming was a “labour of love,” an experience that marked the beauty of the bay and all the people who helped make it happen: from the expert drone photographer to the pier owner from where she jumped into the water to shoot an underwater movie.

Unique natural environment damaged by pollution

The shaded part is the state of this highly diverse and abundant ecosystem of corals, seagrass, and mangroves with over 120 different animal species at risk.

The Gulf is suffering. kelp It’s dying and very few animals are left, “a situation that can be reversed, he says,” if we stop polluting it with fertilizers and pesticides, facilities on the coast or the impact of cruise ships.

Alarms went off in August 2020, when hundreds of barracudas, eels, oysters and all kinds of fish were found floating southeast of the bay, followed by an algal bloom.

Scientists and experts from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) concluded that these deaths were the result of low oxygen levels due to an overload of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous), coming from septic tanks, and overheating. Gulf waters, among other factors.

In the opinion of Piero Gardinale, director of the Environmental Institute at Miami International University (FIU), factors such as “rapid urbanization, pollution, rising temperatures, water management, rising sea levels and loss of important habitats are affecting the water purchase.”

When asked about the importance of this unique natural environment, Gardenelli was blunt: “There is no Miami without Biscayne Bay,” because “the livelihoods of South Florida are linked to the health of coastal ecosystems.”

But despite the pollution, its rich biodiversity allows for the presence of the black “mermaid,” as shown in the video of Dominican-American director Helen Peña, another winner of the competition.

The black mermaid emerging from the ocean floor “to wake up” in a story with poetic text alerting us to the urgent need to “protect our magic, protect life, protect the bay.”

Bay of Biscay it represents To me, the sacred life, a place once inhabited by the Teixa tribe, and at the same time, a microcosm of the kind of climate catastrophe that is happening all over the world,” he assured Yves Peña.

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