What is the Foundation?

The Oceanogràfic Foundation was created to reinforce and extend the work that the Oceanogràfic carries out to protect the marine environment.

Meet Us

Our commitment is to provide new knowledge, to work towards animals’ care and well-being of animals, and to inform and raise the awareness of society to improve the conservation of species and their natural habitat.

Mission

The mission of the Oceanogràfic Foundation is to conserve the marine environment by generating knowledge, and through direct action and the creation of experiences which encourage respectful attitudes towards marine ecosystems in society as a whole.

The Trust

President

Celia Calabuig Gimeno
President of the AVANQUA Administration Council

Representative & Member

Mercedes Calabuig Gimeno
A Member of the Oceanogràfic Scientific Committee for Animal Welfare

Member

Eduardo Nogués Meléndez
General Manager of the Oceanogràfic

Member

Jose Manuel Sánchez Vizcaíno
Professor in Veterinary Science. The Madrid Complutense University

Member

Luis Martí Bonmatí
Doctor in Medicine and Surgery. Valencia University

Member

Janet Landucci
Chair of the Board and ex-President of the Vancouver Aquarium

Secretary

Luis Sebastiá Magnato

Scientific Committee

Andreas Fahlman

Director of the Oceanogràfic Foundation’s Research Department. Associate Researcher of the Texas A&M University and the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution. Assistant Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.

Daniel García

Director and Coordinator of the Oceanogràfic Foundation’s Scientific Committee. Technical Veterinary Director (AVANQUA), DVM, DECZM (ZHM), DECAAH.

Juan Antonio Romero

Associate Director of the Oceanogràfic’s Zoological Operations. A specialist in public aquariums (JAR Marine Consultants).

Francisco Torner

Director of the Oceanogràfic Management Control. Member of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias SA’s Management Team.

Scientific Team

Scientific Committee

Daniel García Párraga

Technical Director and Coordinator of the Oceanogràfic Foundation’s Scientific Committee. Director of Avanqua zoological operations. Graduated in Veterinary Sciences at the Madrid Complutense University. He has a European Diploma from the School of Medicine of Zoo Animals and a European Diploma from the School of Aquatic Animals Health. He is also a member of different international associations of zoos and wild fauna medicine, and an Associate Professor at different universities. He is a member of the Inspection Committee of the Iberian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and of the European Association of Marine Mammals. He coordinates work in the Veterinary Science and Laboratory Area at the Oceanogràfic, and is the Coordinator of the Oceanogràfic Foundation’s Scientific Committee. He has published more than 30 scientific articles.

Dr. Andreas Fahlman

Director of the Oceanogràfic Foundation’s Research Department. Doctor in Animal Physiology at Carleton University (Ottawa) and has graduated in Marine Science at the Hawaii Pacific University. He conducted his research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution until 2011. Since then he has combined his work as a researcher by occupying the post of Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He is one of the top specialists in the diving physiology in marine mammals, and is the author of more than 60 scientific articles.

Juan Antonio Romero

A JAR Marine Consultant.

Dr. Francisco Torner

Director of the Oceanogràfic Management Control. Member of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias SA’s Management Team

Research Area

Dr. Andreas Fahlman

Collaborators

Mar Felipo

Graduated in Veterinary Medicine and PhD student. In 2017, she obtained a Grant for the hiring of predoctoral research staff by the Generalitat Valenciana (European Social Fund). She is working on his doctoral thesis in the field of aquatic animal immunology in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Valencia, the Citómica Service of the Prince Felipe Research Center and the Oceanogràfic Foundation.

Alicia Borque

Graduated in Biology and PhD student from the University of Valencia. She completed her Master’s Degree in Biodiversity: Conservation and Evolution at the same University. Her doctoral thesis, directed by Andreas Fahlman, focuses on the study of the physiology of the respiratory system of marine mammals.

Audra Ames

Degree in Psychology and Ph.D., she graduated summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX) in 2012. She joined the Marine Mammal Behavior and Cognition Lab at the University of Southern Mississippi during the fall of 2013, completed her master’s degree in psychology of the brain and behavior. Her research interests are focused on the acoustic communication of cetacean species and, in particular, of dolphins and belugas. Her current studies refer to the vocal development of beluga culture born in Oceanogràfic in November 2016, as well as to the contextual use of sound by the beluga group in the pre and postpartum periods.

Alex Arkwright

Graduated in marine biology and PhD student, at Swansea University. After completing biology, she completed the Master of Conservation and Biodiversity at Exeter University. Participate in a project to study the behavior of sea turtles during their recovery process in the ARCA del Mar of the Oceanogràfic Foundation, with sensors that record their movements.

Conservation Area

José Luis Crespo

Graduated in Veterinary Science at the Cardenal Herrera CEU University, he is currently doing his PhD studies about the pathologies of marine turtles at the same university. His veterinary work involves being the head of the Oceanogràfic’s Conservation Area, which he combines with his teaching work as an Assistant Professor at the Valencia Catholic University. He has been on several stays at international marine fauna recovery centres. He has published more than 15 research articles.

Vicente Marco Cabedo

He graduated in Veterinary Sciences at the Cardenal Herrera CEU University. In recent years, he has combined his work as a veterinarian in zoos and wild fauna recovery centres with his undertaking of bird migration studies and his expert bird ringing. He has also collaborated as a volunteer in follow-up campaigns with nesting turtles in Colombia.