Portugal nears 30% ocean protection goal with Atlantic reserve

Portugal’s government has approved the creation of a new 173,000km² marine reserve in the Atlantic, marking a major step toward its target of protecting 30% of its maritime territory by 2028.

In a statement late on Thursday, the government said the reserve would protect “unique deep-sea habitats, including cold-water corals, coral gardens, sponges and threatened species”.

The new reserve, announced during the COP31 climate summit in Turkey, will raise the share of Portuguese waters under protection to 25% from about 19%.

It covers the Madeira-Tore seamount complex, between Madeira and mainland Portugal, and the 22,900km² Gorringe Ridge, about 200km off the country’s southern coast, home to Western Europe’s tallest underwater mountain.

The marine protected area will “balance biodiversity conservation with sustainable traditional fishing”, according to the government.

In 2024, Portugal created the North Atlantic’s largest network of marine protected areas around the Azores archipelago, covering 287,000km².

Portugal is working towards the UN goal of protecting at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a global agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

Reuters