Listening to Island Voices: Marine Conservation and Tourism in Macaronesia
- Marine SABRES
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
by Jack Smith, Senior Social Scientist, Cefas
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
In late September 2025, my Cefas colleague Frances Mynott and I travelled to the Macaronesia Demonstration Area (DA) to work with our representative colleagues in the region to deliver a series of stakeholder workshops. The workshops, designed by Bruno Meirelles de Oliveira at partner organisation ATZI, aimed to gain a better understanding of marine stakeholder perspectives and attitudes towards marine conservation, tourism, and the possibility of establishing a marine corridor linking the Macaronesian archipelagos, the Azores, Madeira, and the Canaries, in the eastern North Atlantic.
The Macaronesian islands serve as one of Marine SABRES three research or 'demonstration' areas, providing a unique context where tourism, conservation, and marine livelihoods intersect. Engaging directly with local stakeholders ensures that future management strategies are grounded in local realities and priorities.
The Azores
Our trip began in Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel, where we worked with the Macronesian DA Representatives at the University of the Azores. We brought together representatives from the local tourism industry (including whale watching and dive operators), fisheries organisations, local government, and research institutions. The workshop had two components: an individual questionnaire, followed by a group exercise using the PESTLE analysis framework to explore the themes of tourism, conservation, and a potential marine corridor. Many of the stakeholders were already familiar with the topic and, as knowledgeable participants, engaged in the discussion with insight and enthusiasm. Ultimately, participants found it challenging to agree on a single set of priorities for future management – largely because so many areas were viewed as important in their own right.
Following this productive day of discussion in Ponta Delgada, our next stop was meant to be Madeira. However, Hurricane Gabrielle chose this time to pass through the Azores grounding our flight and leaving us stranded on São Miguel for a couple of unexpected days. Unfortunately, this meant we were unable to complete our scheduled workshop in Madeira.
Gran Canaria
Once travel resumed, our final stop took us south to Gran Canaria, where we held the last workshop with stakeholders and DA representatives, hosted at ECOAQUA. The Canarian stakeholders represented a similar diversity of views – from marine biology and research to government agencies and local business representatives. As in the Azores, the stakeholders here were a workshop facilitator’s dream – engaging in lively, well-informed discussion that even ran over time, as participants insisted on completing their PESTLE analysis as comprehensively as possible. The workshop data will now be analysed and incorporated into the broader comparative analysis across Marine SABRES’ demonstration areas, helping to identify common themes and region-specific priorities for sustainable marine management.
Frances, Bruno and I would like to thank the DA representatives for all their work in organising the workshops and assisting with translation and facilitation. It was a pleasure to visit the demonstration areas and meet people on the ground who are directly shaping the future of their marine environments. We are also very grateful to all the workshop participants, whose engagement and insights were invaluable. The view points gathered during these sessions highlight both the diversity and the shared challenges facing island communities that depend on healthy marine ecosystems – and we look forward to continuing these conversations as Marine SABRES moves into its next phase.