In order to minimize the impact of the drought and reverse the hazardous situation in which some species from the ecological flow of the municipality’s watercourses found themselves in, namely freshwater fish, the Municipality of Oeiras, in collaboration with the Portuguese Navy and the Vasco da Gama Aquarium, promoted a series of initiatives for the conservation of nature.
They consisted of collecting and temporarily transferring the threatened species to aquariums provided by the Vasco da Gama Aquarium – once the natural conditions of the ecosystems have recovered, the same species will be reintroduced to their natural habitat.
At stake were two species of fish which had a risk of extinction as high as 60%, according to the Red Book:
▪ Boga-portuguesa (Iberochondrostoma lusitanicum), a species which can only be found in Portugal and is protected by law.
▪ Verdemã (Cobitis paludica), a species native to the Iberian Peninsula, and also protected by law; it is classified as vulnerable in the rest of Europe despite having a conservation status of little concern in Portugal.
This is the second time that the municipality has taken part in this initiative, which also includes the participation of the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests).
