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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The Marine Park Prof. Luiz Saldanha, in the coast
of Arrábida, is the first marine park in continental Portugal.
This area is a Nature 2000 site and is considered to be a
hotspot for European marine biodiversity. In 2005, the management
plan of the park was implemented, ending several
habitat menaces, thereby allowing an application to the
LIFE—NATURE Programme. The LIFE-BIOMARES
project aimed at the restoration and management of the biodiversity
of the marine park through several actions. The
restoration of the seagrass prairies that were completely
destroyed by fishing activities and recreational boating, was
one of the most challenging. It included the transplanting of
seagrasses from donor populations and the germination of
seagrass seeds for posterior plantation to maintain genetic
diversity in the transplanted area. One of the most popular
actions was the implementation of environmental friendly
moorings to integrate recreational use of the area with environmental
protection. Several dissemination and environmental
education actions concerning the marine park and the
project took place and contributed to the public increase of
the park acceptance. The seabed habitats were mapped along
the park and a surrounding area to 100 m depth in order to
create a habitat cartography of the park and to help locate
alternative fishing zones. Biodiversity assessments for macrofauna
revealed seasonal variations and an effect of the protection
status. Preliminary results are presented and show that the
marine park regulations are having a positive effect on biodiversity
conservation and sustainable fisheries, thereby showing
that these kind of conservation projects are important to
disseminate coastal conservation best practices. The Biomares
project is a model project that can be followed in the implementation
of marine reserves and the establishment of the
Natura 2000 marine network.
Description
Keywords
Life-nature Marine protected area Marine biodiversity Marine habitat restoration Seagrass restoration
Citation
Journal of Coastal Conservation, 18, 643-655
Publisher
Springer