Human activities continue to threaten marine ecosystems’ health and integrity. In spite of the rich marine predator biodiversity in Portugal, most people are unaware of the importance of national waters in the conservation of threatened marine species at European level. The low level of ocean literacy regarding threats to marine top predators, results in a lack of interest and value attributed to the need for marine ecosystem conservation, acting as a barrier to individual behaviour changes, particularly in coastal communities.
The ECOMARE, an infrastructure dedicated to research, innovation and conservation of the marine environment includes the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (CRAM-ECOMARE), which helps marine animals affected by Human activities. By contributing to Ocean Literacy, this project is in line with Biodiversity guidelines such as the Sectorial Plan for the Natura 2000 network, National Strategy for Nature and Biodiversity Conservation (ENCNB 2030), Habitats Directive and the Marine strategy Framework Directive. The project is also in line with the Aichi Strategic objectives within the CBD and with the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, mainly with respect to Goal 14. The first stage of the project will be dedicated to building and integrating all 5 tools including presentations, enhanced reality and live streaming videos along with other activities and the second stage will be dedicated to the implementation of school sessions. This aims at changing attitudes towards the conservation of the marine environment mostly among students, who are more susceptible to behavioral change and often act as catalysts for change in the people around them.