Acronym Biomares
Category
Fisheries
Title Restoration and Management of Biodiversity in the Marine Park Site Arrábida-Espichel Programme LIFE
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source European Coordinator Karim ERZINI Coordinator email kerzini@ualg.pt
Coordinator institution
CCMAR - Centre for Marine Sciences (Portugal)
Institutions involved
ICN - Institute for Nature Conservation (Portugal) ,
INIAP - Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e das Pescas (Portugal) ,
ISPA - Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada (Portugal) ,
CSIC - Spanish National Research Council (Spain) ,
Start year 2007 End year 2011 Funding (€) € 2,364,438 Website https://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=3164#AD Summary The Arrábida-Espichel site has been classified as a pSCI due to the high marine biodiversity of the area. It contains more than 1100 marine species of fauna and flora. The area is also used as a feeding and growing area by several species, comparable to the nursery role of the estuaries. Seagrass meadows have central importance to this nursery function, guaranteeing shelter and food and contributing to the high local biodiversity. These non-estuarine Zostera marina meadows are the last on the open coast in Portugal and the most meridional in Europe. Reduction of seagrass formations in recent years, from 30ha in 1983 to 0.006ha in 2006, has been due to several threats, including illegal fishing practices (past dredging for bivalves) and anchoring and mooring of recreational boats. Currently, the lack of seagrass recruitment possibilities within the site to allow for natural regeneration of meadows, and the lack of awareness of the local and visiting population are also threat factors precluding recovery and conservation. A management plan for the area was approved in 2005. It regulates all activities within its limits, including fishing and recreational boat numbers. The project proposes an active management strategy for reefs and the restoration of the sand banks, permanently covered with sea water. The project goals are to restore the lost seagrass meadow at Portinho da Arrábida and reverse current overexploitation and damage of these two rich habitats, which has lead to the almost complete destruction of seagrass meadows and their associated biological diversity in what was the last truly marine example of this habitat on Atlantic Iberian coastlines.
Keywords
Biodiversity;
Seagrass;
Fisheries management;
Environmental impact;
Physical disturbance;
Restoration;
Marine Region
38
Portuguese Waters (27.IXa,27.IXb)
1
Marine Region Map
