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Guardians of the Sea – Workshop in Maio
- Alice Costa & Aldemiro Pio
- Dec 3, 2025
- 2 min read
From October 1st to 3rd, the island of Maio hosted the inaugural National Workshop of the Guardians of the Sea programme - which we hope will be the first of many. This workshop, coordinated by Fundação Maio Biodiversidade and the PaMAR project, brought together Guardians from Maio itself and five other islands of Cabo Verde: Santo Antão, São Vicente, Sal, Fogo and Brava - supported by their local NGO partners of the PaMAR project. The purpose of the meeting was to collaborate with Guardians from across the country to promote training and validate the Code of Conduct (CoC) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) documents developed by PaMAR consultants Sonia Araujo and Katelene Delgado, in collaboration with Fauna & Flora and the consortium partners.
The Guardians of the Sea programme was launched on the island of Maio in 2016, created by Fundação Maio Biodiversidade and a group of fishermen with the aim of monitoring fishing areas, preventing illegal activities, and recording observations of marine megafauna. Subsequently, thanks to the programme's effectiveness on Maio, it was expanded to other islands through the signing of protocols with Fundação Maio Biodiversidade, becoming a national initiative that recognises and celebrates the vital role played by fishing communities in monitoring and protecting their coastline and ocean.
The workshop, organised by the PaMAR project, took place in a hybrid format: in person (41 participants, including 5 women and 2 trainers) and online (24 participants, including 14 women). On the last day, during the virtual session, the operational documents were presented to local government bodies, and NGOs (both local and international), with the aim of formalising the standardisation of the programme across all islands, gathering contributions for improvements and reinforcing the acceptance and credibility of the programme. During the event, the Guardians expressed interest in this national meeting taking place at least once a year going forward, to promote the exchange of experiences between islands, and suggested the inclusion of women, especially peixeiras – fishmongers - in the programme.
After the workshop, a tour of Maio island took participants to visit some Marine Protected Areas and fishing communities, allowing participants to learn about the local context and better understand the socio-economic and environmental history of the island where the Guardians of the Sea programme was born.
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