APAS proposes to promote and develop marine cultivation of the Caldeira de Santo Cristo Clam, located on São Jorge Island in the Azores. The objectives cover the biological, economic, and social dimensions of fisheries:
- Conservation, management, and exploitation of aquatic resources;
- Protection of clam fishery resources, regulation of total marine catches, limitation of fishing effort, enforcement of minimum size standards and closed seasons;
- Organization of information sessions, debates, and meetings on sustainable clam harvesting in the Fajã de Santo Cristo (FSC) lagoon;
- Activation of mechanisms to certify the origin and sustainable production of FSC clam resources;
- Limiting the environmental impact of cultivation activities;
- Responsibility for monitoring maritime and coastal public domain areas authorized for use by competent authorities;
- Promotion of campaigns to enhance and protect the environmental safety of the FSC lagoon system, to help preserve one of the Azores' unique geological and biological heritage areas;
- Limiting, through targeted strategies, the environmental impact of marine and aquaculture activities related to non-target species;
- Development of protection measures considering the sensitivity of the FSC lagoon habitat and its surrounding areas;
- Promotion of supervision and restriction of access to FSC clam resources;
- Development of aquaculture production structures and capacity management;
- Support for the mollusk aquaculture sector in creating and adapting its structures and management models to resource limitations and market constraints;
- Implementation of measures designed to align farming efforts with available resources;
- Ensuring sustainable activity by informing and disseminating to affiliated members the provisions of the “European Code of Conduct for Aquaculture” published by the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers;
- Promotion, through member participation, of outreach activities (e.g., waste collection and training) related to FSC clam cultivation and literacy, contributing to the development of autonomy, self-management, and confidence in the FSC clam resource;
- Promotion of the maintenance and rehabilitation of new cultivation areas in the FSC lagoon, including preparation of studies and technical projects for its upkeep;
- Monitoring of the physical-chemical water parameters in the Caldeira de Santo Cristo Lagoon;
- Monitoring the population status of natural FSC clam production banks;
- Contributing to research that increases knowledge about the FSC and its coastal lagoon;
- Adopting measures to ensure the viability of the mollusk aquaculture sector and improve marketing conditions for products made by its members;
- Managing documentation related to activities, specifically application and renewal of licenses;
- Promoting interventions in landing, handling, and sales processes, aiming to eliminate intermediaries;
- Promoting regional, national, and international projects of collective interest.
APAS in ACUICONECTA: APAS will support the development of pilot experiments in the FSC lagoon through the participation of its Senior Technician and associated harvesters. It will also provide existing infrastructure owned by APAS as a foundation for the research to be carried out in the FSC lagoon.
In addition to designing the experiment, APAS will contribute to ongoing monitoring and sample collection throughout the research process, monitoring various environmental parameters, analyzing larval planktonic capture structures, and tracking the growth of Ruditapes decussatus clams in different production systems. APAS will also be responsible for organizing, maintaining, and supporting the logistics of sampling, identifying any potential limitations, and proposing preventive or corrective measures where necessary. It will also perform maintenance actions required for the experiments.
Go to the page of the Associação de Produtores de Amêijoa da Fajã de Santo Cristo