The Minister of the Sea, Marta Villaverde, and the head fisherman of the Virxe do Carme Fishermen's Guild of Rianxo, Miguel Ángel Iglesias, have signed a collaboration agreement endowed with more than 850,000 euros aimed at the recovery of about twenty shellfish beds. The agreement foresees compensation for the regeneration work carried out by 94 shore gatherers included in the plan.
This instrument, designed to mitigate the damage caused by heavy rainfall and the consequent episodes of low salinity recorded at the beginning of the year, incorporates all the actions proposed by the shellfish bed owner guild, which will be fully funded by the Ministry of the Sea and co-financed by 70% by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).
The restoration program will be deployed over 21 intertidal shellfish beds, with a total area of 1,507,218 square meters.
Among the most relevant measures is the manual and uniform seeding of 5 million units of carpet shell clams. In parallel, the thinning and transfer of non-commercial size fine and Japanese clams from the densest beds to suitable destination areas such as Ladeira de Leiro, Iñobre (Porto/Sarillo), the Beluso estuary, and A Torre beach will be carried out. In these latter two areas, pre-growth systems will be set up, with mud and algae cleaning tasks every fifteen days.
In addition to restocking, the agreement sets a schedule of actions to condition the environment and strengthen the resilience of the substrate, including sediment removal and decompaction work, both manually and by mechanical means with the support of tractors and boats.
The project also includes the removal of waste and organic debris from the seabed, active predator control, territorial surveillance shifts, and the carrying out of two annual scientific samplings, in spring and autumn, in order to monitor the evolution of the 'stocks'.