Azores approve the largest network of marine protected areas in the North Atlantic

Article excerpt from expresso.pt, translated from Portuguese

The Autonomous Region of the Azores granted protected area status to 30% of the sea that surrounds the archipelago, covering an area of ​​287 thousand square kilometers, which makes the area the largest network of marine protected areas in the North Atlantic.

According to the Regional Government, half of this area will be fully protected, with a ban on all extractive or destructive activities, with high protection status applied to the rest of the territory. In this way, “a sanctuary for migratory species, bottom-dwelling fish, deep-sea corals and unique hydrothermal vent ecosystems” will be created.

The decision, which the Azorean Executive classifies as “historic and pioneering”, was approved on the eve of the start of the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (CBD COP16), establishing a “strong precedent for the upcoming negotiations”, at a time when that 196 countries are working to achieve the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s land and marine areas by 2030, established in the Kunming-Montreal Agreement.

Read the full article inPortuguese blow