There were only nine vessels and their occupants left, but the Maritime Police did not facilitate and went in force to Ilha da Culatra.
A an attempt of resistance by the owner of one of the vessels that was still illegally anchored in the Culatra's recovo, which even threatened the agents with a very light, gave reason to the option of the Captaincy of the Port of Olhão to consider the operation carried out this Thursday as risky.
Despite the tense moment, it didn't take many hours to clear almost all of this recess in the Ria Formosa, next to the housing nucleus of Culatra, from boats. A speed that has no parallel with the time that the situation of abusive occupation of public space was tolerated: more than 30 years.
The permanence of nearly a hundred boats in the Culatra's Reef for decades was the target of widespread criticism. In fact, apart from the owners and occupants of the boats at anchor there, it would be difficult to find anyone who would argue that the situation was beneficial and should continue.
Yesterday's operation by the Maritime Authority was based on a court decision, emanating after nearly a year of dispute between the State and some of the owners, who claimed to have the right to continue occupying that space, in the same mold. Even so, few decided to stay until the end.
About a year ago there were 90 boats here, but from the moment when various entities joined forces to resolve the situation and people began to be notified to leave the place, the vast majority left without any objection. But there were still these last boats, whose withdrawal is seen as a victory by the Captain of the Port of Olhão, Rui Nunes Ferreira.
“It's a feeling of accomplishment. We tried to get everyone out in the best shape, we talked to everyone. 95 percent left, they stayed here, but the court agreed with the State in relation to the work that was being done here», summarized the commander of the Maritime Police Command in Olhão.
Equally happy with this outcome were the Culatrenses, who had long asked for the situation to be resolved. After all, the boats are “over a good seafood area”, which professionals at the center have not been able to access for decades. The neighborhood was not the best either, particularly in some cases, "such as the person who was now detained, who sometimes had some violent behavior", according to several reports collected by the Sul Informação, with the local population.
The arrested German citizen ended up showing his most aggressive face to the agents of the Maritime Police, when they, supported by the decision of the court, took possession of the vessel, to remove it. The man threatened the agents with a pyrotechnic device and ended up being taken ashore, where he awaited the presentation to the judge in a cell. The arrest was motivated not only by the threat, but also by the possession of a prohibited weapon, as he had several weapons with him, "namely machetes, but also the light beam".
“We already expected this attitude. This operation is based on an investigation that had been carried out for a long time by the Maritime Police into the boat owners. We knew that the person who was arrested was, let's say, the head of the group of people who wanted to stay here and that there have been some violent actions, not only in relation to the Maritime Police, but also with the residents here in Culatra. He would have thought that he was the owner of the island's recovo», said Commander Nunes Ferreira.
After the removal of the boats that were anchored, there were still two boats in the place, anchored on land, as they do not have the necessary buoyancy conditions to be removed by water. “Let's get them out of here by other means. We cannot destroy them, because they have an owner, but we will find the best way to remove them from here», he added.
Once the revovo has been cleared, Sociedade Polis Ria Formosa, the Portuguese Environment Agency and the Maritime Authority, who joined forces to resolve this situation, are already thinking about cleaning up the place. In reality, it will be a second level of cleaning, as Polis removed more than 300 tons of garbage from this place last year. On the east side of this indentation, the existing huts have already been removed, now missing some temporary structures on the west side.
Soon, it will be necessary to clear what remains, not only on the banks, but also within the cove, a task for which Nunes Ferreira hopes to have the support of the local population.
Something that, taking into account the words of Sílvia Padinha, head of the Association of Residents of Ilha da Culatra, should not be a problem.
“Finally this situation was resolved. We have been warning about this situation for a long time and we have a lot to thank the Maritime Authority, for having finally removed the boats from here,” he said. The garbage generated by the boats was another concern that the population of Culatra had.
Sílvia Padinha says she doesn't understand how the situation has dragged on for so long and defends the creation, once and for all, of "a regulation for the boats that anchor here and that the rules are to be complied with".
In addition to envisioning the environmental requalification of that space, which will allow local shellfish collectors to derive some economic benefit from it, there is the issue of mobility within the island. “People were no longer passing through there, as some of the boat owners blocked the way. Then there were also dogs, which attacked people», recalled Sílvia Padinha.
See photos of the operation:
(Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação)
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