New species of seafood discovered in Portugal’s Azores archipelago

A new species of seafood has been discovered in Portugal’s Azores archipelago.

As revealed this week in a statement from Naturalist-Science and Tourism, this exciting discovery was made in the autonomous region of Portugal by Professor Alberto Machado during the ‘Azores 2023’ expedition. He is the founder of the Oceanic Studies Group.

Where exactly was this discovery made?

It explained: ‘We took part in the discovery of a population of razor clams (Solen marginatus) in the bay of Praia da Vitória, on Terceira Island, in the Azores. The discovery took place during the Ocean Studies Group’s Azores 2023 Expedition’.

Those involved expressed their belief that this new discovery could become: ‘a unique delicacy, along with the famous Caldeira de Santo Cristo clams, limpets and snails’.

Their viability for exploitation is now being studied by the Regional Government of the Azores, through the Regional Fisheries Directorate, they continued.

They suggested: ‘This could become  a target for exploitation and an alternative to commercial harvesting in the region, if properly regulated’.

What will happen now?

The statement added: ‘To this end, a scientific publication has already been submitted with the results of the initial campaign. A proposal has been put forward to the Regional Government to fund a study into its distribution and abundance, which will support management measures for sustainable exploitation’.

In a footnote, the press release asked the public to note that until further information was available, harvesting of this new discovery was prohibited.