MARÉ will work with local communities to create a practical 2026-2030 Roadmap for protecting the sea in the Viana-Caminha area, in northern Portugal. This stretch of the Atlantic is home to threatened habitats, including marine forests, rocky reefs, and coral and sponge gardens. These habitats support fishing and coastal tourism communities, yet marine protection in the area remains limited.

MARÉ will build on two proven community-led approaches from the Iberian Peninsula: the Os Miñarzos Marine Reserve of Fishing Interest in Galicia and the Pedra do Valado community-led marine protected area in the Algarve. Partners will learn from these examples and from one another, then bring that learning into a Co-design Community Council. The Council’s decisions will be binding on the Roadmap’s content: the communities’ priorities, the options for protecting the area, and recommendations for sharing responsibility for its future management.

Over 18 months, four partners will deliver the Roadmap: CIIMAR (guiding the scientific work), Grupo de Acção Costeiro do Litoral Norte (linking with the communities), and the Municipalities of Viana do Castelo and Caminha (connecting the project with local government). The result will be a Roadmap shaped by the communities, recognised by the authorities, and with a clear route to being put into practice. MARÉ will contribute to Mission Ocean Objective 1 (an EU goal to protect and restore marine ecosystems) and the Trans-European Nature Network (a developing EU-wide network of connected protected areas), and will offer a model other Atlantic communities with similar protection gaps can follow.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Funded within the framework of the BLUEACTIONAA project under grant agreement No 101215504