OH and the Regional Secretariat of the Sea, Science and Technology of the Regional Government of the Azores sign cooperation protocol

The Director-General of the Hydrographic Institute, Rear Admiral António Coelho Cândido, received on November 3, Doctor Gui Menezes, Regional Secretary of the Sea, Science and Technology of the Azores, for a visit to the Hydrographic Institute and signature of the cooperation protocol between the Hydrographic Institute and the Regional Secretariat of the Sea, Science and Technology of the Regional Government of the Azores, for technical and scientific cooperation.

This Protocol aims to facilitate the development of activities of mutual interest, in particular those related to the marine environment, involving areas of Research, Development and Innovation (ID&I), Training and dissemination of knowledge.

This agreement will enable the development of scientific activity in the region in support of public policies of the sea, through partnerships with universities or research centers in the Azores, which can thus coordinate their scientific activity with those of the Hydrographic Institute, enhancing existing funding and sharing technical means in the field of hydrography, oceanography, navigation, marine geology and nautical cartography.

The Regional Secretariat of the Sea, Science and Technology of the Government of the Azores has a responsibility to manage one of the main development factors of the Azores – the Sea – including in its range of competences fisheries and aquaculture, environmental conservation of the marine environment, oceanographic exploration, licensing of uses of the sea and its funds, coastal edges and cooperation with the National Maritime Authority; this Secretariat is also responsible for coordinating the policies of Science and Technology in the Region, and the relationship with the University of Azores and other entities representing the Information and Knowledge Society.

The Hydrographic Institute is a Navy body and a State Laboratory. Its mission is to ensure research and technological development activities related to the sciences and techniques of the sea, with a view to their priority application in naval military operations, including in the areas of hydrography, hydrographic mapping, navigation security, oceanography and marine environment.

The Regional Secretariat of the Sea, Science and Technology of the Government of the Azores and the Hydrographic Institute recognize the existence of common objectives in their respective missions, specifically in the field of training, research, exploration, mapping and monitoring of the ocean, and in the scientific and technological exchange, in the field of the sciences of the sea, exploring the potential of each and the valorization of the action of both, at the service of the country.