Photo by Fernando Strabuli on Unsplash (illustrative)
On 1 January 2026, a network of marine protected areas around Portugal's Azores islands came into force, after the regional parliament approved the law in October 2024. In January 2026, lawmakers also rejected a proposal to open its fully protected zones to tuna fishing.
Key facts
The network protects 287,000 square kilometers, or 30% of Azorean waters, making it the largest marine protected area network in the North Atlantic.
Half the area is fully protected, with no extraction of natural resources; the other half is highly protected.
It shelters sharks, whales, deep-sea corals and hydrothermal vent ecosystems.
On 15 January 2026, the Azores parliament kept the fishing ban in fully protected zones, allowing pole-and-line tuna fishing only in the highly protected areas.
Why it matters
Large, strictly protected areas give sharks, whales, deep-sea corals and fragile vent habitats room to recover from human pressure. The Azores network was designed through years of meetings with fishers and other ocean users, which gives it a better chance of lasting.
Worth noting
Some fishers are unhappy with the limits and the compensation offered, and researchers have warned that enforcement in Portuguese waters has shortcomings. The real test will be how well the rules are policed.