| Acronym: | Phorcus |
| Cost Center: | 1192 |
| Title: | Feasibility study for commercial exploitation of the snail Phorcus sauciatus: assessment of the population in the Azores and capture limits |
| Start-End: | 06-11-2023 - 30-06-2024 |
| Entidade Beneficiária Principal: | Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso |
| Gestores da FGF: | Matilde Pereira |
| Responsible Researcher: | Sérgio Paulo Ávila Campos Marques |
| Organic Units: | FCT - Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia |
| R&D Units: | CIBIO-A - Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos |
| Entidade | Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso |
|---|---|
| Total Financing | 30.151,00 € |
| Direção Regional das Pescas (100.0 %) | 30.151,00 € |
Main Objectives:
The trochid Phorcus sauciatus (F. C. L. Koch, 1845) exists on the coasts of continental Portugal, as well as in the Madeira, Selvagens and Canary archipelagos. The first record of this species in the Azores dates back to July 16, 2013, when 7 specimens were found in Prainha (south coast of Santa Maria), during fieldwork at the 10th international workshop “Paleontology in the Atlantic Islands” (Ávila et al. , 2015). In July 2014, 668 individuals were studied, coming from a 1.45 km long stretch of coast, located on the island of Santa Maria, between Prainha and Praia do Calhau. The conclusions of this study pointed to the existence of populations with a large number of juveniles, also indicating a state of recent colonization of the habitat, followed by geographic expansion. Ávila et al. estimated the initial arrival, naturally, around the year 2006, which was followed by a genetic analysis study of the populations that occur in the Azores. Considering the context described above, the present provision of services aims to carry out a “Feasibility study of commercial exploitation of the snail Phorcus sauciatus: assessment of the population size in the Azores and capture limits”.
Project Description:
The trochid Phorcus sauciatus (F. C. L. Koch, 1845) exists on the coasts of continental Portugal, as well as in the Madeira, Selvagens and Canary archipelagos. The first record of this species in the Azores dates back to July 16, 2013, when 7 specimens were found in Prainha (south coast of Santa Maria), during fieldwork at the 10th international workshop “Paleontology in the Atlantic Islands” (Ávila et al. , 2015). In July 2014, 668 individuals were studied, coming from a 1.45 km long stretch of coast, located on the island of Santa Maria, between Prainha and Praia do Calhau. The conclusions of this study pointed to the existence of populations with a large number of juveniles, also indicating a state of recent colonization of the habitat, followed by geographic expansion. Ávila et al. estimated the initial arrival, naturally, around the year 2006, which was followed by a genetic analysis study of the populations that occur in the Azores. Considering the context described above, the present provision of services aims to carry out a “Feasibility study of commercial exploitation of the snail Phorcus sauciatus: assessment of the population size in the Azores and capture limits”.
