Meeting with stakeholders in the Azores

In January 2025, the UAc and IMAR teams presented the objectives of the REDRESS project to key administrative directorates responsible for ocean, coastal, and fisheries management, as well as fisheries associations and local NGOs in the Azores. The goal of the meeting was to establish a knowledge transfer platform that bridges science and policy, ensuring the integration of scientific data into public policies aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of deep-sea ecosystems. The discussion centered on how the scientific knowledge generated through the REDRESS project can inform both European and national policies, particularly the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, sectoral policies resulting from the European Green Deal, and other policies directly related to ocean management, such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Nature Restoration Law. Additionally, the meeting discussed strategies for involving the fisheries sector in the application of low-cost experimental actions to restore deep-sea ecosystems developed for the Azores under the framework of REDRESS, and how the government could leverage this cooperation with fishers as a potential model for future restoration initiatives in the Azores.