Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change launches open procedure for the study of the invasive alga 𝙍𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙭 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙚

July 24, 2023

The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change launched last week the open procedure for the conclusion of a contract for the “acquisition of services for the preparation of a multidisciplinary study for the knowledge of the invasive alga Rugulopteryx okamurae in the Autonomous Region of the Azores”.

According to the Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, “this initiative complies with the provisions of the Resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores No. 33/2022/A of October 10, 2022, which provides for the urgent implementation of measures to combat the impact of the invasive alga Rugulopteryx okamurae on Azorean marine ecosystems”.

Alonso Miguel pointed out that, in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, the alga was detected, for the first time, in early 2019, on the south coast of the island of São Miguel, and its identification was confirmed by molecular and morphological data. However, the governor considers that “in-depth studies are needed to provide extensive knowledge of its ecology, impacts and, consequently, potential mitigating approaches to deal with this problem felt at the regional level”.

The head of the Environment office in the Region said that “the impacts of Rugulopteryx okamurae are known in other regions where this species has become invasive, namely in marine biodiversity and fisheries, with a decrease in catches and operational gear, in tourism, with the degradation of the quality of diving sites and environmental quality”.

Alonso Miguel also added that “it was for this reason that it was proposed to carry out this study, to know in greater detail the impact of this alga in the Region, so that the best decisions can be taken on this problem”.

The Regional Secretary pointed out that “this procedure, launched under the purview of the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, aims to contract the acquisition of services for the production of scientific knowledge and tools to understand the life cycle of this macroalga, its ecology and effective solutions to be applied in order to mitigate its population expansion, as well as the determination of possible uses that can be given to it, with a view to its economic valorisation under the logic of circularity”.

The project in question has an execution period of 15 months and represents an investment of 200 thousand euros, financed by the Environmental Fund, which corresponds to an instrument with the purpose of supporting environmental policies for the pursuit of sustainable development objectives, contributing to the fulfilment of national and international objectives and commitments, specifically those related to climate change, water resources, waste and nature conservation and biodiversity.

“The results of this study will be fundamental to prepare the Region to deal with this new reality of massive occurrence of this alga, which has already been identified in several islands of the Region and which greatly concerns the Regional Government, given its potential to cause significant impacts in environmental and ecological terms, public health, as well as from an economic point of view, namely in terms of tourism”, he highlighted.

Alonso Miguel concluded by stating that “this is one of several initiatives triggered by the Regional Government in this context, recalling the recent acquisition of equipment to support the cleaning of the beach of Porto Pim, on Faial, whose management is the responsibility of the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change”.