Those visiting the Galician Pavilion from the 25th to the 31st of August, will be able to watch a video on the different actions taken by the Galician Fisheries Government, such as the repopulation of species on the littoral and the creation of marine protected reserves
The Galician Ministry of Fisheries promotes its pledge for marine environment sustainability at Expo Zaragoza 2008
The Galician Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries will be disseminating its pledge for the sustainability of the marine environment in the Galician Pavilion of Expo Zaragoza 2008 between the 25th and the 31st of August. This will be made through the screening of a video exclusively created for the contest, in which special focus is given to actions such as the development of marine protected reserves, the repopulation of the littoral and environmental protection.
The video, with a duration of two minutes and twenty seconds, starts with the motto Agua-Mar-Galicia [Water – Sea – Galicia], thus addressing the main topic of this international exhibition, namely, water as a source for life. The images, shown with overprinted text, are organized around four central themes that give continuity to the tape: Marine Reserves, Repopulation, Environment and Sustainability.
It is worth mentioning that, throughout next week the video screening will also allow the Galician Pavilion visitors to watch our coasts and seabed with the species that dwell in them, as well as other sea-related activities typical from Galicia, such as the different fishing and seafood gathering arts.
With regard to the marine reserves, special emphasis is made on the importance of habitat protection by supporting the development of species and thus assuring their future. Along with this line of action is the Marine Reserve of Fishing Interest of “Os Miñarzos”, which was created after the passing of the corresponding Decree by the Xunta de Galicia Council on April 12th, 2007. This protected marine space is located on the municipality of Carnota (A Coruña) and was boosted both by the Galician Ministry of Fisheries and the Fisherman’s Guild of Lira.
The first of its kind in Galicia, this marine reserve seeks, among other goals, to help in the regeneration of fishing resources; to preserve the sea’s flora, fauna and diversity; to raise awareness on marine and environmental issues, to disseminate the fishing and environmental values of the Galician coast as well as to sponsor the scientific studies on the preservation of resources and the management of fisheries. Moreover, the creation of this protected area attempts at bringing new socio-economic opportunities in the field of tourism and leisure and at acknowledging the fishermen’s work and their culture.
Followed by marine reserves is another section that advocates on sustainable growth, the defence of marine and environmental resources as well as the repopulation of the sea to “create more life within life”. In fact, one of the main initiatives of the Ministry of Fisheries team is the Plan of Sea Species Repopulation on the Galician Littoral, that set off at the end of 2005 and that, by the end of 2008, will have enabled the release of 11,000 juvenile lobsters and 34,000 turbot fingerlings on the Galician coasts.
Furthermore, the video that is to be disseminated by the Fisheries Ministry in Expo Zaragoza 2008 also addresses the relevance of environment and, specifically, of taking care of the sea to keep benefiting from it, underlining also the role of sustainability, a field that advocates the optimization of resources and respect for the environment so that Galicia “keeps being a marine paradise of riches and biodiversity”. One of the best measures applied for achieving the previously mentioned goals is the General Plan of Seafood Exploitation, an annual document that constitutes an enabling mechanism for the fishing sector to actively participate in the responsibility of the marine resources management.
