The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology welcomed today the preliminary data collected by the scientific mission "The Azores islands - the best kept secret of the Atlantic," funded by the Waitt and Blue Ocean foundations. It has been carried out on the islands of Santa Maria and S. Miguel and Formigas islet from September 9.
 
Fausto Brito e Abreu pointed out that, through preliminary data, it is possible to see "a significant difference in the abundance of fish and marine species inside and outside protected marine areas," pointing out, as example, the recently expanded fishing restricted areas of Santa Maria.
 
The Sea Regional Secretary spoke in Ponta Delgada during a visit to the vessels "Plan B," which was involved in this oceanographic expedition in order to conduct a scientific survey on the conservation status of marine biodiversity and produce a documentary to disseminate marine biodiversity in the Azores.
 
For Brito e Abreu, the first results of this expedition are a "validation of the Government's work in regard to the creation of protected areas," stressing "the important role of fishers who have contributed to their creation."
 
"The areas restricted to fishing are not only important for marine tourism, but also for fishing because they serve as nursery areas" that allow the re-population of fishing areas, said the government official.
 
Brito e Abreu also said the data collected by this expedition "are very useful to validate the model adopted on the islands where there are already protected marine areas," encouraging fishers "who wish to discuss the proposal of protected marine areas" on the islands where they do not yet exist.
 
However, the Regional Secretary for the Sea stressed that "the scientific date emerging from this expedition are useful for some projects that are underway at the University of the Azores" and, now, they benefit from additional information. In this regard, he stressed the importance of this project for the "dissemination and awareness of issues related to the marine environment and the promotion of the Azores as a destination of excellence" in nature tourism.
 
This campaign, which involved five regional scientists, included the tagging of pelagic species in collaboration with ongoing projects at IMAR, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre and the University of the Azores.
 
The results of this mission will be presented to the Regional and National Government in the form of scientific report containing information on the current state of conservation of the natural values studied in the Azores Eastern Group, the effectiveness of current protected areas as well as the possible interest in expanding these areas or the creation of new protection zones.
 
The documentary, with a duration of about 20 minutes, will be released by the Waitt and Blue Ocean foundation with the aim of disseminating among the public in general the main aspects of the activities developed during the expedition and marine environments of the Azores.