Nuria Salmerón, new marine protected areas technician

The Marilles team is getting bigger, and so does our work to get more and better marine protected areas (MPAs). Nuria Salmerón Quesada is the new MPA  technician. With a degree in biology and an international master's degree in marine resources, she will work to achieve the creation and better management of MPAs in the Balearic Sea, focusing on coordination between all stakeholders and increasing the number of strictly protected areas.

Although she comes from Lleida, inland, the sea is Nuria's passion. ‘For me, the sea is connection. It connects continents, but also people, because it does not understand age or social class. Taking care of the sea is taking care of ourselves. I think Marilles understands this very well, as it connects people for this common good,’ she explains.

Nuria has travelled half the world to study the sea and some of its inhabitants, such as cetaceans and penguins. With experience in places such as Portugal, Ireland, Chile, Tenerife, and Catalonia, and in organisations such as Greenpeace, the spark that ignited her marine vocation came during her first dive as a teenager: ‘I saw a fish sleeping and thought: wow, fish sleep, how much I don't know about this thing that is so close to me!’