Cuba and USA Share Innovative Initiative on Marine

The Vice President of Biological Operations at the Florida Aquarium, Margo McKnight, considered today as positive the possibility to travel to Cuba in order to take part in an innovative marine conservation initiative between Cuba and the United States.

McKnight will participate on Wednesday in Havana in a meeting on the protection of the marine environment, the fight against illegal fishing, the conservation of vulnerable species and coral reefs.

The representative of the Florida Aquarium and the rest of the delegation will focus the attention on different issues, such as pollution and other threats to marine life in the Gulf of Mexico.

The US delegation that since Tuesday participates in the bilateral meeting is headed by David Balton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries.

The delegation also includes David Guggenheim, president and founder of the Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization Ocean Doctor, and representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A statement issued by the State Department highlights that this meeting is the first between Cuba and the United States after the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the conservation of marine protected areas signed on last November.

Cuban experts are expected to visit the Florida Aquarium facilities in August, a research and educational center that opened in 1995.