Page 75 - Fishery_Regimes_2005

EMPAFISH Booklet nº 2 Fishery regimes in Atlanto-Mediterranean European MPAs

MPA: Formigas islet/Dollabarat Bank

Location: 37º 14'N 24º43W - 37º 17'N 24º 47'W
Country: Portugal, Azores
Coastal/Island: Island (offshore)
Total size: 52,527 ha
Integral size: 52,527 ha
Year of establishment: 1988 (modified in 2003)
Depth range: 0 - > 1700 m
Protection objectives: Conservation, scientific research,
tourism
Type of MPA: Integral
Habitats: Rocky reefs, Laminaria beds, Cystoseira
beds, deep coral
Socio-economic activities: Fishing, diving, tourism

Activities General reserve
Forbidden Spear fishing, angling
Restricted Fishing, scientific research
Allowed Boating, swimming, scuba diving, anchoring

Description of the fisheries in and around the MPA:

The Formigas Islets and Dollabarat Bank MPA was created to protect
and to manage the natural environment and its resources, to enhance
scientific knowledge and to organise tourist, recreational and fishery
activities in a sustainable manner.
The Formigas Islets comprise an area of deep sea and sub- and supra-
aquatic seamounts. The Dollabarat Bank, on the other hand, is a
shallow marine plain.
All fishing activities are forbidden within the reserve, with the
exception of tuna fisheries, under certain conditions. These fisheries
may only be conducted by pole-and-line and only by vessels that are
equipped with the MONICAP (MONItorização Contínua das Actividades
da Pesca) monitoring system, a system that can track the location of
any given vessel. Traditionally, the area as been a fishing ground for
the artisanal open-deck and semi-artisanal fleet targeting bottom fish,
both in the shallow and in the deeper part of the seamount, that
operate from the neighboring islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel.
This fishing occurs also in the islets and seamount slopes located
nearest to the islands. Limpet collection and spear fishing is known to
have occurred from the neighboring islands.
The reserve is regulated by the Regional government of the Azores.

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