Mário Rui Pinho welcomes approval of Azores Marine Protected Areas Network Management Strategy - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Mar e das Pescas

The Regional Secretary for the Sea and Fisheries, Mário Rui Pinho, welcomed the Government Council's approval of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network Management Strategy (EGRAMPA). This document establishes a framework for the implementation, financing, management and monitoring of the Azores Marine Park over time, through an adaptive management model.

This regulation establishes guidelines for the management of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network (RAMPA), an action programme that presents cycles and procedures for reviewing RAMPA, based on new scientific knowledge and new practices. It also includes the legal framework for the financial support mechanism for reducing fishing activity.

According to the Regional Secretary for the Sea and Fisheries, EGRAMPA "sets out the planning and management guidelines necessary for the preparation and approval of the respective plans. Its adaptive nature facilitates the continuous integration of new scientific evidence and best practices, ensuring optimisation at each review cycle."

Mário Rui Pinho emphasises the importance of management strategy, given that this new network is a “fundamental tool for the recovery and conservation of marine biodiversity, from which a truly sustainable blue economy can be created.”

It should be noted that this year also saw the approval of the organisational structure of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network Management Authority, as well as the organisation and operating rules of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network Advisory Council.

This means that all the regulations set out for 2025 in Regional Legislative Decree No. 14/2024/A of December 24, which created RAMPA, have been complied with.

It should be noted that this decree also provides for the publication of the Management and Spatial Plans and the Implementation and Financing System by the end of 2026, as well as the review of coastal marine protected areas by 2028.