This Saturday, in the interior of Lagoa dos Salgados, the Maritime Police seized more than 30 illegal traps to capture eels, shrimp and fish. Inside the traps – known as pots – PM agents discovered nearly 40 kilos of dead eels, nearly twenty turtles, toads and a bird (little grebe), also dead, and dozens of kilos of shrimp and crayfish, in their most also already dead.
All animals that were found alive – fish, eels, shrimp, tortoises, crayfish – were immediately released from the nets and returned to nature. Those responsible for placing the pots were not caught, but the PM will keep the area under closer surveillance.
The existence of these illegal traps in Lagoa dos Salgados, a wetland located next to Praia Grande, in border between the municipalities of Silves and Albufeira, was detected by a technician from the Portuguese Environment Agency/ARH, when this body proceeded, last week, to the controlled opening of the lagoon to the sea.
«The water level dropped in the middle of the pond that is below the dike and the recently built floodgates, and the traps, some of them with meters and meters of net, ended up being exposed, something that whoever placed them there shouldn't have been there. wait," he told the Sul Informação ornithologist Rui Eufrásia, who also helped to detect the situation.
The Maritime Police of Portimão also verified that the padlock of the access gate to the dike that crosses the lagoon, dividing it in half, was cut, and they also found a small vessel, a flat one, hidden among the reeds, which should be used by poachers. The vessel will also be seized.
One of the PM agents who participated in the operation, which occupied the entire Saturday morning, told the Sul Informação that, despite the fact that about three months ago some traps were seized in that lagoon area, “something of this dimension is unprecedented. We didn't even know that this was happening, mainly because the nets are submerged».
The eirozes, shrimp and crayfish caught in the traps are intended to be sold to individuals and restaurants. «A kilo of eels is sold for 20 euros. We alone today threw away about 40 kilos of them, already dead. That alone is a loss of 800 euros», stressed the PM's agent. "These people not only capture illegally, they also destroy everything, even tortoises and birds."
Rui Eufrázia, who, as a bird watcher, is a frequent visitor to Lagoa dos Salgados, says that he had already found it strange that, «a few days he came here and there was a flock of 40 or 50 flamingos, the next day there was nothing ». According to him, the presence of poachers, even at night, disturbs the birds and leads them to seek refuge in other areas.
«Still recently, 300 thousand euros were invested here, to create better conditions for the birds in Lagoa dos Salgados, as this is one of the areas of the Algarve that attracts bird watchers from all over the world. But now, with this predation and the disturbance that is created, there is a risk that the investment will not be of much use», lamented the bird watcher.
According to Rui Eufrázia, the placement of illegal traps to catch, above all, eels occurs in Lagoa dos Salgados and also in the neighboring mouth of the Ribeira de Alcantarilha. "They come here after hours, at night or in the early hours of the morning, so they are very difficult to catch," he added.
"They destroy everything, even the birds, which enter these traps after the fish, end up being trapped and drowning," said another of the Military Police agents.
The seizure of illegal pots will undoubtedly be one of the reasons for the conversation of the group of about 20 people who this Sunday will participate in a whining action, in the areas around Lagoa dos Salgados.
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