Portugal plans to create a new large-scale marine protected area around the Gorringe Ridge, positioning itself as a leader on international marine conservation goals.
The proposed Gorringe marine protected area (MPA), some 200 kilometres off the southern coast of continental Portugal, and two smaller areas to be created are expected to increase the portions of protected seas from 19 percent to at least 27 percent, reports Reuters.
“In terms of marine protection, we are the most advanced country in the world with our characteristics combining continental and insular territory. Certainly, the leader in Europe,” Maria da Graça Carvalho, Portugal’s environment minister, told Reuters. She announced the new MPA as countries gather in Nice, France, for the third UN Oceans conference.
The creation of MPAs is a key goal of the Oceans conference, as it pushes to get more countries to ratify and implement the 2023 High Seas Treaty, which provides a legal framework for protecting biodiversity in international waters.
At present, 51 countries have signed on, just short of the 60 needed to make the treaty legally binding.
[See more: Portugal has announced a 20 million euro investment in coastal protection]
The Gorringe Ridge sits deep in the Atlantic Ocean, between the Azores and the Strait of Gibraltar, stretching 60 kilometres wide and 180 kilometres long. At more than 5,000 metres tall, it is the largest seamount in Western Europe and would be Portugal’s tallest mountain if it was on land.
That size allows it to host an enormous diversity of habitats and species, including corals, deep-sea sponges and kelp forests. To date, over 850 species have been registered there. Graça Carvalho told the news agency that the establishment of the new protected area encompassing Gorringe – prohibiting any fishing in the area – should be approved by decree in the coming months.
Emanuel Gonçalves, scientific director of the Oceano Azul Foundation, which mapped the area in partnership with the Portuguese Navy, and whose data supported the government’s decision, said the new area is expected to cover around 100,000 square kilometres.
If fully protected, he explained to Reuters, such a large MPA “will functionally connect seamounts, abyssal plains, and the open ocean, creating a safe haven for highly mobile and migratory species, as well as deep-water habitats.”
He added: “It will provide a fertile nursery and feeding zone for turtles, sharks, marine mammals, seabirds, and tuna, expand or restore kelp and coral forests, and create a sanctuary for the only known reproductive aggregation of torpedo rays.”
