Portugal has a long and rich history with the sea and its coast. This relationship is rapidly evolving has new emerging technologies have been introduced such as biotechnology, renewable energies or aquaculture. And the truth is that the value of the sea, for Portugal, is greater than you can imagine.
Fishing, aquaculture, ports, tourism, freight shipping, shipbuilding, energy, science and technology, and mineral exploitation are all part of the economics of the sea. These are affected by the continually repeating changes in the behavior of the sea and the coast.
The coastline, which is particularly appealing for tourism, fishing and aquaculture, as well as the port industry, is highlighted in this sector, and it exhibits constant growth and huge potential. This has a beneficial and considerable effect on raising on the GDP and employment levels in the nation.
The Portuguese sea’s potential and the resources that contribute to it however, are still underutilized. Economic, social and environmental challenges have stimulated the demand for knowledge, which is being promoted by investment funds and initiatives to increase literacy and awareness in the area. Minimize the impact of pollution, climate change and preserve biodiversity are the main challenges of the market. All this is being tackled with the new ENM 2021-2030.
SIMShore will enable an operational update of nearshore bathymetry, leveraging from innovative and cost effective approaches. Making use of Satellite Derived Bathymetry (SDB), SIMShore will rely on drones to achieve better temporal resolution and frequent coverage of the territory. In this way, it will be possible to obtain valuable data to monitor changes in the littoral, protect biodiversity and coastal areas, promote the economy of the sea and combat the challenges described above. SIMshore project is funded by the EEA Grants support to Portugal, under the Blue Growth Innovation and SMEs (Blue Growth) program operated by the Portuguese Directorate-General for Maritime Policy of the Ministry of the Sea (DGPM).