The Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs (DRAM) and Atlânticoline, S.A. met, on May 25, in Horta, with the aim of cooperating for the conservation of the Azorean marine biodiversity. This important collaboration is established under the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project, and will be implemented in a cooperation protocol to be celebrated between the two entities.

The articulation between Atlânticoline and the DRAM provides for the systematic registration, by on-board observers, of the megafauna and marine litter that can be seen from the ferries. In parallel, regular information on marine species observed during journeys will be released.

The information obtained in the monitoring program that is now starting will be analyzed and considered in the review process of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network (RAMPA), a process that is carried out by the DRAM. Within the frame of the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project, this regional department also prepares the designation of new marine protected areas, which will become part of the Azores Marine Park, once revised, significantly increasing the area of the Azorean maritime space that is effectively protected, thus fufilling the internationally assumed commitments.