Countering plans for seismic activities to search for hydrocarbon resources off the Algarve coast, OceanCare and the Silent Oceans Coalition presented a Statement of Concern signed by 14 nature and species conservation organisations to the Government of Portugal on February 3, 2016.
The coalition demands that independent environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are carried out prior to any seismic activities. This demand is consistent with the EU’s EIA directive which has been revised in 2014. Prior to this revision EIAs had to be performed only for planned drillings in the seafloor, but now they are mandatory for exploration activities too.