On 25 November, as part of the Maelstrom Project, the Bubble Barrier was inaugurated in the River Ave estuary in Vila do Conde.
The implementation of this innovative technology is the result of a partnership between the Maelstrom Project team, where CIIMAR is the Portuguese representative, and Vila do Conde City Council to co-design and implement an innovative Bubble Barrier in Portugal to capture plastic in the Ave estuary in Vila do Conde.
The implementation of this technology had the scientific supervision of CIIMAR, which led several missions to assess the ecological state of the Ave estuary in order to understand the environmental impact of the Bubble Barrier on this ecosystem, as well as developing a hydrodynamic model to support the technology. CIIMAR also coordinated the involvement of local, regional and national stakeholders, such as Docapesca – Portos e Lotas, S.A., the Portuguese Environment Agency, the Maritime Authority – Vila do Conde Captaincy, LIPOR and the Vila do Conde Environmental Monitoring and Interpretation Centre (CMIA Vila do Conde), who were fundamental to the successful design and implementation of the entire system.
