Integrated into the project of the beach nourishment of Vale de Lobo’s beach, this study aimed to characterize the bivalvia population present in the original sand patches and assess potential impacts on commercial fishing activity with trawl gear used off Vale de Lobo’s coast.
The study involved the collection of sediment samples using scuba diving, followed by the identification of the benthic macrofauna in the laboratory.
The incidence of impacts on the bivalvia population and remaining groups of the benthic macrofauna present in the sand patches was analyzed, which, in addition to their ecological and conservationist value, also have a considerable economic importance in Algarve. The results were also assessed in light of previous studies conducted by Nemus on infralittoral coarse sands along the Algarve coast and of verbal communications from local specialists.