The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology stated in Velas that video surveillance will provide "a very important contribution to the safeguarding of some marine areas in the Azores where fishing activities were banned."

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with São Jorge Fishers' Association, held Monday, Fausto Brito e Abreu emphasised that the Government of the Azores is studying the technical conditions to install surveillance cameras in some places, including Formigas Islets, Maia (Santa Maria) and Fajã de Santo Cristo (São Jorge).

"The Regional Fisheries Inspectorate will carry out the first experiments with high-definition and infrared vision cameras on the island of São Jorge, Santa Maria and São Miguel,” said Brito e Abreu.

The Regional Secretary stressed that "we need to increase the effort of monitoring marine protected areas in the Region to discourage illegal fishing," adding that cameras Rabo de Peixe Port is equipped with cameras that can be "used to detect undeclared unloadings of fish ".

According to Brito e Abreu, the meeting with the São Jorge Fishers' Association was intended to prepare the Regional Fisheries Council, scheduled for April 30, and to learn about the concerns expressed by local fishers, such as the need to improve the refrigerator storage unit in Velas and management of species subject to quotas in the Region.

"During the meeting, fishers defended the management of quotas per island and called for the strengthening of surveillance in fisheries," added the government official.

The management of the red seabream quota, the possibility of establishing a closed season for this species and the need to regulate recreational fishing in the Region were other issues discussed at this meeting.