Near the port of Barcelona, an amazing discovery to revitalise the seabed
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00:00 Just a few meters from Barcelona port, volunteer divers and scientists meet up every month
00:07 to explore the seabed.
00:08 "Shall we get ready to dive down?"
00:12 Janir is a biologist.
00:14 She's come to take some cuttings from the gorgonians.
00:21 Similar to hard coral, which is threatened with extinction, they were accidentally discovered
00:26 three years ago in the waters of the Catalan capital.
00:31 One of nature's mysteries and a source of hope for ecologists.
00:34 "There you go guys, our catch of the day.
00:39 The gorgonians create real forests in the sea.
00:42 They shelter numerous species that lay their eggs or take shelter in their branches.
00:47 Here in Barcelona, there are seahorses and lots of other sea creatures.
00:51 It's astonishing to find all that in such a polluted area."
00:59 To get to the bottom of that enigma, Josep Maria and other marine biologists started
01:04 a research project.
01:06 "We think that if the gorgonians have flourished in Barcelona, then they adapt particularly
01:13 well to climate change.
01:14 That's a very interesting example for us to study from a biological and ecological
01:18 point of view."
01:19 For the next three to five weeks, Josep Maria and his team are going to grow gorgonians
01:26 to study their resistance to polluted environments.
01:29 "Our goal is to use the gorgonians to create a seabed forest, a unique area of biodiversity
01:36 in the Mediterranean.
01:37 We're hoping other cities could copy this project."
01:42 These scientists say it's vital to conserve and regenerate Europe's seabeds.
01:47 The world's seas and oceans produce at least 50% of the oxygen available on Earth.