Armação de Pêra Bay could become a Marine Protected Area of Community Interest. At least that is the intention of the Council of Silves, the University of Algarve, through CCMAR, the Fishermen Association of Armação de Pêra and the Parish Council of that village, which promoted a working meeting, last Friday, 30 November, to present the bases of this project. The proposal must be delivered to the Government next year.
This initiative is supported «in a study by the University of Algarve that synthesizes the technical and scientific knowledge about this bay» and «based on the recognition of the Armação de Pêra Bay reef as one of the areas with the greatest biodiversity and productivity on the Algarve coast», he explains the Oceano Azul Foundation, also involved in the project.
According to the background information document that supports the project, cited by the newspaper Terra Ruiva, the objective of this measure is to «reverse the current trends of decline in fishing and preserve habitats, species, ecological processes, which as a whole support services ecosystems essential to human well-being'.
The first step of the project, according to that newspaper, was «a survey of transdisciplinary information, promoted by the Foundation, in partnership with the University of Algarve and in particular with CCMAR, aiming to establish a Protected Marine Area of Community Interest on the southern coast of the Algarve . The area in question is comprised between the farol of Alfanzina (western limit) and Albufeira marina (eastern limit), and extends to a depth of 30m, totaling a total area of 94,5 square kilometers».
According to habitat and marine biodiversity mapping studies carried out between 2003 and 2017, 889 species were identified in this area, 19 of them with conservation status, such as groupers and seahorses.
The same document cited by the Silvense newspaper emphasizes that «the uniqueness of the Armação de Pêra Bay is reinforced by the discovery of another 45 new occurrences in Portugal and, above all, 12 new species», which were not identified elsewhere.
Furthermore, also in terms of fishing, the bay, which has the largest natural reef in Portugal, is particularly important, as mapping studies have shown the existence of «important fishing banks for local and coastal fishing» and conditions « which favor the growth and survival of fish larvae, in particular sardines'.
The Oceano Azul Foundation says that the entities involved in the project «intend to achieve sustainable use, promoting local fishing and sustainable nature tourism, along with its preservation and protection of its natural values, biodiversity and services (blue natural capital )'.
The initiative also wants to implement «effective measures that promote the sustainability of resources and prevent the development of activities that irreversibly affect this marine ecosystem, of important wealth for the Algarve and Portugal».
The working meeting was attended by 28 regional actors, including local authorities, associations representing fishing activity and maritime-tourism activities, representatives of the central administration, universities, State laboratories, non-governmental organizations or companies, «all of which were invited to express their interest in participating in the development of this process which will take place during the next year”.
The promoters say they have no doubts «that the involvement of all parties interested in the creation of a Marine Protected Area of Community Interest (AMPIC) in the Armação de Pêra Bay is essential for finding the best path for preservation of this marine ecosystem and its natural values, a condition that will also allow the sustainable economic development of the region and the country».
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