On June 11, during the third United Nations Oceans Conference in Nice, France, Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho announced the initiation of the process to create the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of the Gorringe seamount, southwest of the Algarve.
Today, on the sidelines of Expo2025 in Osaka, Tiago Pitta e Cunha highlighted that this commitment increases the percentage of the Portuguese sea covered by MPAs from 19% to 25%, nearing the global target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030.
This follows the establishment of the largest network of protected areas in the North Atlantic by the Azores at the end of 2024, covering 30% of the region’s seas (approx. 300,000 square kilometers), half of which is under “full protection” status.
“With the marine protected areas that Portugal announced, we are effectively at the forefront of the ocean agenda. I am very proud of Portugal for this,” stated Pitta e Cunha.
This sentiment is echoed by Joana Gomes Cardoso, Portugal’s Commissioner-General at Expo2025 in Osaka, under the theme “Ocean: Blue Dialogue.”
“Perhaps since Expo98 [in Lisbon], the sea has become a national cause. It is no longer a matter of left or right; it is indeed a cross-cutting cause for the country,” she told Lusa.
“It makes perfect sense for Portugal to position itself through what it has done, which I would say is at the level of the best efforts worldwide,” she added.
Tiago Pitta e Cunha also pointed out, “Portugal is the only country in Europe and one of the few in the world that has a parliamentary law imposing a moratorium on deep-sea mining until 2050.”
“It is another of the great mistakes we might be on the verge of committing. There is no point in creating marine areas to protect the ocean and simultaneously engaging in ocean floor mining,” the expert warned.
The head of Oceano Azul emphasized that, unlike other countries, Portugal is not establishing MPAs “at the ocean’s edges, in such remote areas where there is no maritime transport, no economic exploitation.”
“We are doing this in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean,” referred Pitta e Cunha, during an event on ocean protection organized on Sea Day, a national holiday in Japan.
Oceano Azul is currently utilizing one of the two multipurpose rooms in the Portugal Pavilion, with one attraction being a scientific expedition the foundation coordinated in September to the Gorringe bank.
“I am from Sesimbra, and all the fishermen there know this area,” Sílvia Tavares explained.
The project manager at Oceano Azul argued that Portugal brings to the Expo knowledge to share on “how to create marine protected areas in a way that truly works.”
Tavares highlighted the creation of the MPA network in the Azores, which “selected the most important zones, gathered scientific information, and involved everyone in a participatory process,” including fishermen.
Established by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Society in 2017, Oceano Azul is a non-profit entity aimed at contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, and it includes the Lisbon Oceanarium as part of its assets.
