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Portugal Establishes the Largest Fully PMR in Europe & North Atlantic

Giant anemone (Telmatactis cricoides) with white-striped cleaner shrimp in newly expanded Selvagens marine reserve

Today the government of Portugal expanded a marine protected area around the Selvagens Islands, creating the largest fully protected marine reserve in Europe at 2,677 square kilometers. The Selvagens Islands are a small archipelago in the North Atlantic located midway between Madeira and the Canary Islands.

National Geographic Pristine Seas studied the Selvagens Islands in September of 2015 in partnership with the Oceano Azul and the Waitt Foundation. During their expedition, the team conducted what was among the first underwater surveys of the ecosystem – from the shallows to the depths – and filmed the biodiversity around the islands...

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