MARE researchers take part in the first campaign of the Madeira MPA Project

The IPMA oceanographic vessel "Mário Ruivo" set sail from Funchal on 6 August for the first campaign of the Madeira Ocean Marine Protected Areas Project. MARE researchers Filipe Henriques, João Pequeno, Manuel Vieira, Laura Redaelli and Jorge Lobo Arteaga. are also on board.

The aim of this mission is to identify new areas of high interest for biodiversity conservation in the Madeira region, and to build the scientific basis to support the planning and management of current and future classified areas. As such, the multidisciplinary team aboard the ship "Mário Ruivo" will collect information on the biodiversity and habitats of the seamounts in the Madeira-Torre Geological Complex (CMT), and in adjacent areas such as the Ampère, Coral Patch and Gorringe seamounts.

To this end, MARE has lent some equipment, namely acoustic sensors from MARE-Madeira's Megafauna team, and batteries for the ROV that will be operated by Filipe Henriques from the Regional Directorate for the Sea and a MARE researcher.

This campaign, which is being financed to the tune of approximately 2.5 million euros by the Blue Fund, is divided into two phases: the first ends in Lisbon on 11 August, after a stopover in Funchal on the 6th. The second phase is scheduled for the first half of 2025.

For the first time, the campaign has the participation of researchers from all the Associated Laboratories of the Sea Area, namely MARE, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Marine and Environmental Research of the University of Porto (CIIMAR), the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies of the University of Aveiro (CESAM), the Centre for Marine Sciences of the University of Algarve (CCMAR), and in collaboration with the Regional Directorate for Maritime Policy of Madeira and ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation of Madeira.