The Government of the Azores aims to enhance the dissemination of the vast underwater heritage throughout the islands, highlighting the "geostrategic importance" of the Region in the Atlantic. The Regional Director for Culture spoke in Santa Cruz da Graciosa last Friday.

"Maritime navigation, first sailing and then steam boats, and communications via submarine cables have long demonstrated the geostrategic importance of the Azores in the Atlantic as well as in the establishment of bridges between continents. In this context, shipwrecks are the best demonstration of this wealth," said Nuno Lopes.

The Regional Director spoke at the 5th Underwater Tourism Biennial, stressing that, among the 22 visiting sites in the Azores Sea, five sites are already safeguarded by specific protection legislation.

With these regulatory procedures, the Regional Government aims to assert its powers in the management of those sites and, simultaneously, make room for the activities developed by maritime-tourism operators and collaborate with supervisory entities.
 
This strategy aims to create, over the coming years, a route of archaeological parks and sites where shipwrecks occurred in order to enhance the potentialities of this heritage in the component of tourism and research.

The project developed by the Azorean Government will allow all those who are interested to become acquainted with all the underwater heritage known by diving or information on various formats, which will be available at the appropriate facilities near the wreck sites or at the local museums.

The Azores already have some duly regulated parks, including the Angra do Heroísmo Bay on Terceira Island, the vessel "Canarias" on Santa Maria Island, the vessel "Dori" near the city of Ponta Delgada, the vessel "Caroline" on Pico Island and the vessel "Slavonia" on Flores Island.