Off Madeira, scientists watch a protected sea prove itself

A stingray glides across Juan Mayorga's screen and the Colombian environmental engineer smiles: 'It's a good day when we see animals like this.' Mayorga, 36, is part of a month-long Pristine Seas expedition around Portugal's Madeira archipelago — nearly 200 scientists aboard some 15 vessels, studying how marine life is faring and how it can better withstand a changing climate. His team lowers baited cameras 40 to 50 metres down near the Desertas Islands and compares two worlds side by side: waters to the south, where fishing is completely prohibited, and waters to the north, where some fishing continues. Year after year in the protected zone, he says, the fish get bigger and produce more young — 'that is protection working right there.' The fieldwork, run by the National Geographic Society's Pristine Seas initiative, is gathering the evidence that decides what protection does next.

SDG 14 · Life below water — Mechanism: institutional program