The Balearic Sea* is rich and diverse, and we want to share it with everyone! Getting to know the richness that is concealed under the sea is essential for understanding its benefits and participating actively in its conservation.
Visual arts, such as photography or video, play a key role in revealing the sea’s hidden treasures to the general public, connecting us to nature and promoting awareness and an active involvement in marine conservation. Visual arts can bring us hope; they can move and inspire. We all have an important role to play in the conservation of the Balearic Sea. We want to be part of an active, responsible and well-informed community that enjoys a positive relationship with its marine environment. * The Balearic Sea is enclosed by the 1,000 m isobath around the Balearic archipelago and occupies a total area of 28,290 km2.
MARE is an initiative that supports marine conservation through creativity and the promotion of visual arts from an ethical perspective. We would like to invite everyone to capture the beauty of the landscape, fauna and flora of the Balearic Sea so that we can share, understand and enjoy it, while learning about the challenges it faces and becoming an active part of its conservation.
MARE organises MARE FOTO, the Photography Competition for the Conservation of the Balearic Sea, with underwater digital photography as its main discipline. Find out more about the competition and join in!
In addition, since 2025, MARE has also organised a Reels Competition, MARE SEA REEL, to bring the sea closer to a younger audience through a fresher and more immediate format.
Yes, everyone has a unique vision of the sea. What is your vision?
© Álex Postigo
Find out more about MARE FOTO and join in!
MARE is a collaborative initiative driven by conservation, photography and video organisations, associations and key institutions. It is also supported by public institutions, private companies and media committed to marine conservation. MARE remains open to the participation of other organisations and sponsors, aiming to become a leading initiative that promotes the use of visual arts to spread conservation messages. The experience and knowledge of the Advisory Board, made up of individuals who volunteer their time, have been the key to the creation and ongoing development of MARE.
Aniol Esteban
Director of Marilles Foundation
Irene Estaún
Former Director of Menorca Biosphere Reserve
Gigi Torras
Albatros Diving Manager
Agustí Torres
Photographer & Director of Shark Med
Enric Gener
Photographer & founder of 27 mm
Tomeu Sanatandreu
Member of the AFONIB Board of Directors
Coinciding with the beginning of the bathing season, we launch MARE FOTO and MARE SEA REEL to invite professional and amateur photographers and content creators to capture what lies beneath the marine environment.
At the beginning of winter, we organise an awards ceremony to showcase the best proposals and conservation messages that help us connect with the sea through a responsible perspective. During the event, prizes are awarded to the winners.
Afterwards, we organise travelling exhibitions across the Balearic Islands featuring the finalist and winning works from the photography competition.
Our diary will keep you up to date with the activities we organise around conservation, the world of underwater photography and video. We share news and online events on social media. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. And if you don't want to miss out on any news, subscribe to the newsletters of our collaborators!
The Photography Competition for the Conservation of the Balearic Sea is subject to the code of ethics that regulates conservation photography, which all participants must respect and comply with. The spirit of this code of ethics focuses, above all, on these principles:
Read our complete code of ethics here: Association of Nature Photographers of the Balearic Islands, AFONIB
