Ponta Delgada, Portugal, July 15, 2025 (Lusa) - If the project for new marine protected areas in the Azores were to back down, it would be "a shot in the foot" and a "negative" measure for the region's image, José Neto Azevedo, assistant professor at the University of the Azores (UAç), said today.
"It seems to me that it's a shot in the foot and even, from the point of view of the image of the Azores, extremely negative to say that, after all, we have protected areas, but you can fish!" said the university lecturer, who has a doctorate in animal ecology and was heard by the Parliamentary Affairs, Environment and Sustainable Development Committee (CAPAD'S), meeting in Ponta Delgada.
José Neto Azevedo's hearing followed a proposal put forward by the PS (the largest opposition party in the Azores), which aims to amend the law approved in October 2024 by the Regional Legislative Assembly on the network of marine protected areas in the Azores (RAMPA), to allow tuna fishing to continue in the total reserve zones.
"It's very important that a certain proportion of the marine protected areas are fully protected," said the Azorean professor, who disagrees with the exception that is now being introduced to the original law, which stipulates that there must be 30% of marine protected areas in the archipelago.
As he explained to the MPs, it is necessary to create restrictive measures for fishing activity in the archipelago; otherwise, at this rate, fishing may no longer have a future in the region: "If fishing continues as it is, it has no future! We are extracting much more than the ecosystems can replenish."
The PS MPs claim, however, that tuna fishing, which is carried out using pole-and-line gear (each fisherman uses only one pole and one hook), is already sufficiently selective and environmentally friendly, as well as being a "sustainable" type of catch, compared, for example, with the purse seines used by Spanish tuna vessels.
"It's indeed an extremely selective fishery, but that doesn't mean it's sustainable," the expert emphasised during the parliamentary hearing, pointing out that pole-and-line fishing "is very non-destructive", but that the intensity with which it is done is what determines "whether it's sustainable or not!"
The proposal presented by the Socialist bench in the Azorean parliament also warns of the economic consequences that the ban on fishing on the Azorean submarine banks, such as Princesa Alice, D. João de Castro or the Formigas islets, could have on the Azorean tuna fleet and the canning industry itself.
When asked about this, José Neto Azevedo minimised the effects: "Nobody is saying that tuna is no longer fished in the Azores! The catches are still there! What will happen is that they won't fish in certain places!"
The two largest parties in the Azores (PSD and PS) have already begun negotiations with each other to avoid a possible setback in the marine protected areas project, as well as a foreseeable embarrassment with the European authorities, who at the time praised the regional authorities for increasing the marine protected areas on the islands.
According to sources from both parties, Agência Lusa has learnt that the agreement could involve postponing the entry into force of the new network of marine protected areas, so that tuna fishing can continue to take place on the underwater banks, at least for a little while longer.
Representatives of the Association of Maritime Tour Operators of the Azores (AOMA) and the Association of Canned Fish Manufacturers of the Azores (Pão do Mar) will also be heard this Tuesday on the subject.
RF/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
