Sciaena congratulates Portugal on strengthening the protection of the Gorringe and calls for effective conservation measures

Nice, 11 June 2025

Today, Portugal has taken another step forward in the conservation of its marine natural heritage. By the end of the year, the Gorringe seamount will see its conservation status reinforced, with an expansion of the total protected area and the designation of a portion as a fully protected area. The Gorringe was classified as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in 2015, which still allowed for several extractive activities within its boundaries that will now be prohibited or strictly limited.

The Gorringe seamount, or Gorringe Ridge, is located southwest of Cape St. Vincent, around 200 km off the Portuguese continental coast, still within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This underwater mountain covers approximately 2.2 million hectares of marine area (specifically 22,927.78 km²) and stretches over 180 km in length. Seamounts are underwater mountains that rise from the seabed and alter ocean currents, enabling nutrient-rich waters from the depths to rise to the surface. This phenomenon creates areas abundant in food and shelter, attracting a wide diversity of marine life and forming true oases in the deep sea.

According to Henrique Folhas, responsible for Marine Protected Areas and Restoration at Sciaena, “this is an excellent decision aimed at protecting one of the most important marine biodiversity hotspots in Portugal. But this announcement must be followed up with further action, particularly with the designation of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network for mainland Portugal and, above all, with the adoption of effective measures that ensure real protection—namely, by ensuring that destructive fishing practices, and other extractive activities that undermine conservation goals, are genuinely banned in at least 10% of the network.”

Currently, around 7% of coastal and marine areas under Portuguese jurisdiction are designated as MPAs. Since the first United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), held in New York in June 2017, Portugal has made successive commitments on this matter. The Minister for the Environment, Maria da Graça Carvalho, has already reaffirmed during the 3rd UNOC Portugal’s commitment to protect around 30% of its national maritime space by 2030.

Gonçalo Carvalho, Executive Coordinator at Sciaena adds, “it is important to support fishers in adapting to the creation of new MPAs, but it is essential that such support focuses on transitioning to low-impact fishing and developing complementary economic activities—particularly those that benefit from and depend on environmental conservation.”