CASTRO MARIM president José Esteven, is opposing the new regulation plan for the Sapal de Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, the oldest nature reserve in the country.
More than 30 years after officially creating the park in 1975, the Portuguese government has finally proposed a regulation plan for the area.
Public discussion of the document is to be held until October 17, but José Estevens has already expressed publicly that he is against some of the constraints resulting from the new regulation plan.
Amongst the criticised aspects is the reduction from 12 to seven metres of boats allowed to dock along the Portuguese side of the Guadiana River. José Estevens wants the boats dimension to remain at 12 metres with the argument that access to Castro Marim by boat “is an historical right” to preserve.
The plan also prohibits artificial docking structures, which affects the projected marinas and tourist ports. The document includes limitations against motor boats in all the river areas of the natural reservation and only allows manual fishing in the riverbanks, in an attempt to stop the illegal prawns fishing that persist in the reserve limits.
Salt production is also targeted, with new rules such as the need for permits from the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e Biodiversidade, the national environmental authority, for each change in the existing saltpans. After the public discussion procedures, the document will go back to the Environment Ministry before its publication as law.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: editor@portugalresident.com
