The non-governmental organization Sciaena, dedicated to environmental issues, expressed this Friday, December 13, its disagreement with the aquaculture project in the Ria Formosa Natural Park.
Today, Sciaena submitted its contribution to the public consultation process concerning the request for the installation of an aquaculture establishment inside the Ria Formosa Natural Park, called “Bivalves dos Areais”.
If authorized, the project will allow «the installation of structures for the production and fattening of two species of oysters and clams, for a period of up to 50 years, in an extensive area of approximately 10 hectares, in front of Ilha da Culatra ».
After careful analysis, Sciaena then considers that the project should not be allowed.
The main reasons for the disagreement are due to the «impacts on the entire ecosystem that an intensive exploitation of bivalves on the expected scale could cause, namely in the seagrass meadows, an essential habitat for several commercial species and for one of the most threatened and iconic inhabitants of the Ria Formosa: the sea horse».
«We are also concerned about the fact that the area planned for the project contains a natural bivalve production bank, currently operated by local populations who, deprived of this location, would have to seek other areas to develop their activity, with considerable economic and environmental impacts. ».
As an interested and active entity in the region, Sciaena is interested in promoting and participating in a broader debate on the future of shellfish production in the Ria Formosa, which may include the reactivation and renaturalization of currently deactivated production areas, as an alternative to new explorations. , namely large scale.
«Sciaena has as one of its main priorities the conservation of the Ria Formosa, in order to safeguard the various essential functions it has, and also to allow a sustainable exploitation of its resources, based on the best scientific knowledge and ensuring the minimization of environmental impacts . It is also important for Sciaena to integrate the various economic and human activities that take place in this Natural Park», says the NGO, in a statement.
Moreover, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) and the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) have already issued opinions against this bill.
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