MARE researchers present at the Assembly of the Republic due to the Co-Management Committee for Barnacle Harvesting

MARE researchers were present at the Assembly of the Republic, as part of the delegation that represented the Co-management Committee for the harvesting of barnacles in the Berlengas Natural Reserve, to accompany the debate and vote on Draft Resolution nº 442/1.ª/XV, which recommends that the Government should provide financial resources for the Co-management Committee for the Harvesting of Barnacles in the Berlengas Natural Reserve (RNB) and the creation and funding of the Algarve Octopus Fishing Co-management Committee. This draft resolution, presented by the PS parliamentary group, approved by a majority, was a fundamental step towards operationalizing co-management.

Harvesting barnacles (Pollicipes pollicipes) in the Berlengas Archipelago, classified as a Natural Reserve in 1981 (RNB) and whose area is part of the Berlengas Biosphere Reserve, classified by UNESCO in 2011, is an activity with socioeconomic relevance at a regional level, Berlenga barnacles are a highly appreciated and valued biological resource in national and international terms.
 
This activity as well as several studies and projects developed over the last few years, namely Co-Pesca 2 project, allowed leveraging the necessary actions for a shared management of barnacle to achieve sustainability. Wich means a respectful attitude between actors – shellfish gatherers, scientists and official entities.

The legal framework created by Decree-Law n.º 73/2020, of September 23, identifies the possibility of creating co-management committees. For it contributed Co-Pesca 2 project being able to define the bases for the implementation of a regime of shared management in compliance with the principle of maximum mutual collaboration, culminating, at the end of 2021, with the creation of the Co-management Committee for the Harvesting of Barnacle in RNB through Ordinance no. 309/2021, of December 17.