The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology stated today that the sea and fisheries in the Azores "go beyond an economic dimension as they are, in many cases, "a way of life."

Fausto Brito e Abreu noted that "fishing is the way of life for more than 3,000 people in the archipelago, using traditional techniques and wood boats built with traditional shipbuilding techniques." According to him, fishing is also an "intangible heritage."

"If we had a purely economic approach to the sector, we would have lost this genuine characteristics as well as the cultural and sociological dimension of fisheries," said the Regional Secretary. The government official spoke at the opening session of the international conference "Exploring the Atlantic: Frontiers in Space and Time," an event organised by the Centre for Overseas History, defending the need for a "multidimensional and integrated view of maritime activities" in the Region.

Brito e Abreu pointed out as an example the whaling culture "that came to us through the sea. It came from North America in the 19th century, reaching its peak and decline in the 20th century. Event through, whales are no longer hunted in the Azores, this culture was kept alive.

"Through small museums and regattas in whaling boats, the whaling culture still exists," the government official said, adding that currently the whale watching industry, which uses lookouts on land, is "a business activity with a turnover exceeding 50 million Euros per year in the Azores. Today, a live whale is worth more than a dead whale."

The Regional Secretary for the Sea also pointed out the amateur diving as a "growing area" in the archipelago, highlighting the added value generated by the classification of underwater archaeological parks.

Brito e Abreu also emphasised that the Azorean Government "has carried out an effort in the conservation of the marine environment through marine protected areas and environmental protection projects."

"We have the responsibility to know our maritime heritage and to invest in knowledge and research as widely as possible," said the government official.

In his speech, the Regional Secretary stated that "in the coordination of ocean policies, the Regional Government has a holistic view; it not only regards the sea a source of income, employment but also as an integral part of our identity and our culture."

The government official recalled that "Portugal has over 50% of its maritime area under Community jurisdiction, integrated in the European Union, and the Azores have more than 50% of the Portuguese sea."

In this context, the Regional Secretary pointed out "the Azores have naturally a special responsibility in the development of European policies linked to the Maritime Economy."

"If we look to the future, I believe the sea will continue to be of our main pillars of development, " the government official said, adding that the geographic position of the Azores, near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, will be "a strategic point for the exploration of the vast deep-sea resources, although largely unknown, with special emphasis on minerals and genetic resources."

The international conference "Exploring the Atlantic: Frontiers in Space and Time" brings together participants from different areas, such as history, economics, politics, culture and the natural sciences. For three days, they will debate the importance of the ocean as "the last frontier in resource exploration and the last space on planet Earth waiting to be known and conquered."