PROPOSAL FOR THE DECLASSIFICATION OF THE AZORES MARINE PROTECTED AREA NETWORK UNDER DISCUSSION
April 2025 | Blue Azores Program Information
CONTEXT
A proposal to declassify the Azores Marine Protected Area Network (RAMPA) is currently under discussion in the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA).
This proposed amendment to the diploma, approved in October 2024, seeks to allow pole-and-line tuna fishing within Marine Protected Areas classified as Total Protection, i.e. marine nature reserves. Allowing this activity would cause these areas to lose their Total Protection status under international criteria.
The proposal, which is under analysis in the Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Environment, and Sustainable Development (CAPADS), was placed for public consideration on March 25, and ended on April 23, 2025.
Learn more about the legislative process (PT).
Subsequently, between July 15 and November 14, a group of experts, representatives of the sector and other entities with a relevant role in the participatory process that led to the creation of RAMPA were heard. Once the hearings are over, the process awaits the opinion of the commission itself, followed by a report, whose deadline for delivery is December 7. This is followed by debate and vote in ALRAA.
WHAT DOES THIS AMENDMENT JEOPARDIZE?
1. Declassification of RAMPA's Fully Marine Protected Areas
Introducing fishing activities into fully marine protected areas would inevitably lead to their declassification, as resource extraction is incompatible with the full protection status under international criteria set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Marine Protected Area Guide (MPA GUIDE).
2. Fully Marine Protected Areas Benefit People, the Economy, and the Environment
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Fully marine protected areas also provide benefits to people. Economic activities depend on a healthy, robust, and resilient ocean. In the case of fishing, fish stocks recover, leading to increased fish populations that move into neighbouring areas, replenishing zones with lower protection levels.
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Science has shown that fully marine protected areas yield the greatest benefits for biodiversity. It's essential to have spaces where marine life and its processes are safeguarded and restored, serving as sanctuaries and enhancing the resilience of marine ecosystems.
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The effectiveness of a network of marine protected areas, as RAMPA intends, must include zones without extractive activities to protect existing species and habitats and allow for the recovery of degraded ecosystems, ensuring their proper functioning.
3. Delay in meeting Portugal's commitments in ocean conservation?
The international commitment is to protect 30% of the ocean, with at least 10% total protection. Opening the RAMPA Total Protection Areas to tuna fishing would be to declassify them, and the Azores would have 0% of the area classified as Total Protection, in violation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and its objectives.
4. A robust participatory process called into question
This proposal proposes to amend Regional Legislative Decree No. 14/2024/A of December 24 approved by the Regional Assembly in October 2024. This diploma came out of a very participatory process, involving various economic sectors and civil society through:
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a robust participatory process,including contributions from 17 entities that agreed that there would be no extractive activities in the full protection areas;
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a public consultation that received more than 400 submissions;
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consideration in the Regional Assembly, which included the discussion of two petitions, hearings with various entities and experts, and the rejection in plenary of a proposal to add the art of pole vaulting as allowed in areas of total protection.
5. Negative consequences for the international image of the Azores
Since the approval of RAMPA, the Azores have been celebrated as a global leader in marine protection. This recognition was based on the decision-making process, the scale of the network, and the adoption of international standards. A rollback in conservation standards, in just a few months, would damage the Region's credibility on the international stage and demonstrate an inability to effectively manage and protect its marine environment.
FULL PROTECTION IS IMPORTANT
FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF POLE-AND-LINE TUNA FISHING
While pole-and-line fishing is a more selective and sustainable type of fishing — and its value should indeed be promoted through fisheries restructuring measures — it remains an extractive activity that removes key elements from the marine food web that are essential for its proper functioning.
TUNA PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE MARINE FOOD WEB
Tuna are large predators with a fundamental role in the food web: by feeding on smaller fish, squid, and crustaceans, and through their complex hunting behaviors — which involve interactions with other marine species — they help support other top predators such as seabirds, dolphins, and even whale sharks. It is essential that there are areas where tuna can feed and reproduce, contributing to healthy ecosystems and bringing benefits both to biodiversity and to the human activities that depend on it, such as fishing.
Seamounts are critical for biodiversity
Scientific research shows that although tuna undertake vast migrations, seamounts are crucial areas for feeding and reproduction. Tuna spend more time around these seamounts, using them as “service stations” along their migratory “highways.” By fully protecting some of these seamounts, we are not only allowing biodiversity to recover in those areas, but also enabling declining tuna populations to regenerate — with clear benefits for the long-term sustainability of the tuna fishing industry.
International evidence of the benefits of fully protected areas for tuna fishing — without economic impacts
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Recent studies demonstrate the positive effects of marine protected areas on fisheries — even for highly mobile species such as tuna. These studies show: No negative economic impact on fisheries (Costello, 2024). Increased tuna catches, especially of bigeye tuna, around large MPAs (Lynham et al, 2024).
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An even more recent meta-analysis of 123 marine protected areas (Horta e Costa et al., 2025) confirms that fully protected and well-managed marine protected areas generate greater and faster ecological, social, and economic benefits.
THIS AMENDMENT IS A STEP BACKWARDS
According to the current legislation, which designates RAMPA, pole-and-line fishing for tuna is only prohibited in marine protected areas with a total level of protection, which constitute only half of the marine protected areas of the Azores Marine Park.
Pole-and-line fishing is already allowed in highly protected areas of the Azores Marine Park, as agreed with the various sea users during the participatory process that preceded the approval of these new areas.
Pole-and-line fishing is allowed in about 85% of the Azores Sea.
Due to its lower environmental impact, pole-and-line fishing is permitted in the other half of the RAMPA’s marine protected areas, which are designated as high protection areas. This approach was agreed upon during the participatory process with ocean users before the approval of the new marine park areas.
VIOLATION OF THE COMMITMENTS OF THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING OF BLUE AZORES
“The proposal constitutes a decision that goes against the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the Blue Azores Program, signed by the Regional Government of the Azores in February 2025, and undermines the established partnership agreement. The maintenance of the protected area and its protection levels are conditions established in the new MoU, so the proposed declassification of half of the RAMPA area would jeopardize the commitments made by the partnership.
The memorandum has the following objectives:
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the effective implementation of RAMPA, with strategies and management plans defined by law;
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the restructuring of the fisheries sector to ensure a sustainable exploitation of marine resources and socio-economic and environmental balance;
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the review and implementation of the network of coastal Marine Protected Areas;
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and the creation of a mechanism to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the Azores Marine Park.
MONETARY SUPPORT FOR THE FISHING SECTOR’S TRANSITION TO RAMPA IS BEING PLANNED
How is the implementation of RAMPA taking care of potential consequences for the fishing sector?
The decree approved in October 2024 includes mechanisms for the effective implementation and management of the RAMPA’s marine protected areas and it also foresees the approval of a Fisheries Restructuring Strategy for the Azores prior to the RAMPA’s full implementation.
The Regional Government of the Azores has committed to restructuring the fishing sector and to establishing transition mechanisms, including financial compensation for potential consequences of the RAMPA revision. On November 4, 2022, the Regional Directorate for Fisheries began a series of meetings with fishing associations to co-develop a restructuring strategy and action plan with the support of the Blue Azores Program.
To date, 10 meetings have been held, along with the presentation of the fisheries restructuring proposal to the Regional Fisheries Council for discussion with stakeholders.
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The Regional Secretariat for the Sea and Fisheries has also announced its support for an independent study to assess the economic impact of the Marine Park revision (DLR no. 14/2024/A) within the Azores’ Exclusive Economic Zone. This study will analyze data to identify short-term financial impacts on the Azorean fishing fleet and will develop financial compensation proposals within the restructuring strategy — ensuring the long-term viability and sustainability of the region’s fisheries sector.
This entire process is being conducted in accordance with principles of transparency and with the active participation of stakeholders, particularly representatives of the fishing sector.
On October 30, 2025, the Council of Ministers approved funding from the Environmental Fund, including multiannual commitments, for the project “Azores Marine Park – compensation to the fishing sector” in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, up to a total of ten million euros.
This measure, already announced and now implemented, aims to mitigate the immediate losses of the sector, while gradually adapting the regional fleet to the new conditions of sustainable fishing, ensuring the balance between environmental conservation and the balance of the sector.
According to the Regional Secretariat for the Sea and Fisheries, the study of the compensation mechanism will be completed before the law’s entry into force, on January 1, 2026, according to the schedule defined in the Regional Legislative Decree.
REFERENCES:
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Costello, M.J. 2024. Evidence of economic benefits from marine protected areas. Sci. Mar. 88(1): e080. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.05417.080
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Lynham, J., Villaseñor-Derbez; J.C., Evidence of spillover benefits from large-scale marine protected areas to purse seine fisheries. Scienc e386,1276 1281(2024).DOI:10.1126/science.adn1146
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Horta e Costa et al., Marine protected areas stage of establishment and level of protection are good predictors of their conservation outcomes, Cell Reports Sustainability (2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100345
ABOUT BLUE AZORES
Focused on the conservation and sustainable use of the Azores Sea, based on the best available scientific knowledge and with the participation of the community, the Blue Azores Program aims to contribute to the protection, promotion, and enhancement of the archipelago’s marine natural capital, creating new avenues for the sustainable economic development in the region. It thus promotes the conservation of the ocean, the enhancement of nature and the activities that depend on it, and the promotion of a sustainable blue economy. It was born from a partnership between the Regional Government of the Azores, the Oceano Azul Foundation, and the Waitt Institute, in collaboration with the University of the Azores.
