Portugal Announces New 38,000 Sq. Mile Protected Area Around ‘Stunning’ Underwater Mountains
Portugal Announces New 38,000 Sq. Mile Protected Area Around ‘Stunning’ Underwater Mountains A wall along the Gorringe Ridge carpeted with jewel anemones (Corynactis viridis) – credit press handout / Oceana / Carlos Suarez © Out of a recent UN conference on the protection of the sea comes the news that Portugal has announced the creation of a new 38,000 square-mile marine protected area. Established around the Gorringe seamount, technically Portugal’s tallest mountain, the decision will take the nation’s total protected territorial waters to 27%, making the small Iberian country the continent leader in protected ocean waters. The announcement was made by the nation’s environment minister Maria da Graca Carvalho at the 3rd UN Oceans Conference in Nice. The conference focuses on implementing strategies and methods to achieve the goals set out in the 2023 High Seas Treaty, which has so far been ratified by 51 nations—9 short of entering legal force. “In terms of marine protection we are the m…
