00:03By photographing flora and fauna to gauge the health of marine ecosystems,
00:08you are able to anticipate any changes and identify signs of stress or if it needs to be rested.
00:13This is the initiative that Red Primar has successfully set up in the Canary Islands and Macaranesia,
00:19inviting members of the public to upload their photos of marine life to its platform.
00:23As a result, scientists have already catalogued more than 5,000 species.
00:28Denis goes diving and regularly uploads his photos to the website of this European project,
00:33which is co-funded by the Canary Islands government.
00:36With Red Primar, if you upload it, then you are a pair of extra eyes on the water,
00:40so this is how they can figure out new species that they didn't know before that they were living here.
00:45In 30 minutes of diving, we've seen probably like 20 to 30 species or maybe even more.
00:54Red Primar brings marine life to the classroom
00:56and takes the classroom to the sea.
00:59These secondary school pupils from IES Yaiza are on a field trip today in Orzola,
01:04in the north of Lanzarote.
01:06In class, they've been studying how human activities affect the marine environment.
01:10They've recorded a podcast, and now they're observing which species live here.
01:16They've shown us that there is a tool in which any citizen,
01:22they themselves, can take a photo of a specific species,
01:26geolocalize it with the same application,
01:29to have better data from each scientific use,
01:32and contribute in that way to generate science.
01:37An experience Aroha will never forget.
01:40The majority didn't even know them, or their names didn't sound like anything.
01:45For example, the marine fish.
01:47When an animal comes to bother them,
01:50they throw it like a kind of green paint to absorb it.
01:54It's very surprising.
01:55The total budget for the project is just under 2 million euros,
01:59of which 85% has been funded by the European Cohesion Policy,
02:03and the remaining 15% by the Canary Islands government.
02:08Red Primar originally focuses activities in the Canary Islands,
02:12before expanding its scope to encompass other regions,
02:15Capford, Madeira and the Azores.
02:17Each photo, which is geolocated and validated by a team of experts,
02:20is a piece of the jigsaw that helps them gain a better understanding
02:23of the marine ecosystem.
02:39Red Primar is also an early warning system for changes in the ocean.
02:44Anyone can take part.
02:48Red Primar, I think, is for everybody, even for non-divers.
02:51I can compare it with Pokemon Go.
02:52You can collect species, but this is real life.
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