Producers of the famous Ria Formosa shellfish today protested outside the regional office of the Portuguese Institute of Ocean and Atmosphere, in Olhão .

Yesterday 500 shellfishermen had attended a meeting in Olhão's municipal auditorium to voice their anger at the sudden downgrading of their traditional shellfish harvesting banks which meant that many now are unable to sell their harvest on the open market.

The Algarve’s MPs have as one demanded that parliament's Maritime and Agricultural Commission urgently talk to the various bodies that oversee the Ria Formosa due to the surprise downgrading of many shellfish production areas.

"The MPs will apply to the Commission to conduct hearings in Olhão with those authorities and industry associations that oversee the Ria Formosa," read a statement from the socialist party in the Algarve today.

One concern is that the move is a pre-oil and gas downgrading of shellfish banks in preparatrion for chemical infiltration of the area when gas extraction starts.