Envision a system that enables notifications regarding faecal discharges along the coast of an island as heavily regulated as Tenerife – notable instances include El Médano and, more recently, Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz. Alternatively, consider a network of antennas distributed along the entire coastline that track marine currents to enhance safety in aquatic environments. These are merely two instances that delighted and astonished the representatives of the Cabildo de Tenerife, led by its president, Rosa Dávila – the first occasion on which someone in her capacity has done so in nearly 112 years of the institution’s history – during their visit to the headquarters of the Canary Islands Oceanographic Centre, part of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) and belonging to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), situated at the Santa Cruz Fishing Dock. Here, they were briefed on five projects directly associated with the island’s geography and examined potential avenues for collaboration with the national scientific organisation.