IPMA opens upgraded marine labs and boosts fish restocking in Portugal

Portugal’s Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) inaugurated the requalification of the National Bivalve Monitoring System laboratories at its Matosinhos hub, a project carried out with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR). The ceremony was attended by Secretary of State for Fisheries and the Sea Salvador Malheiro and Matosinhos mayor Luísa Salgueiro. IPMA President José Guerreiro described the upgrade as a turning point for the institute, emphasizing public investment in scientific support for the blue economy and the creation of new jobs.

In the same period, IPMA issued weather warnings for August 6 across mainland Portugal, the Madeira and Azores archipelagos. The institute also reported community‑focused actions: a donation of about 60 kg of fish to three charitable organisations and the release of 3,160 juvenile seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) into the Ria Formosa to aid marine ecosystem restoration.