Leonel Pereira’s concern for the Ria Formosa had been growing for some time. This resulted in the “revolt” and the alarming scenario described in an online publication, with the title “The silent crime of the Ria Formosa”.
O chef from the restaurant Check-In by Leonel Pereira, located in Faro, justifies the public stance taken and the call for everyone to join in this denunciation: “For years, nature generously offered its treasure: the cockle, a symbol of ecological balance and sustenance for so many families. All it took was touching the sandy bottom to find an almost miraculous abundance, a living ecosystem that seemed inexhaustible. But greed proved, once again, that human beings are capable of destroying even what they without effective supervision, without respect, without conscience, the Ria Formosa was being gutted by shellfish collectors driven by quick and irresponsible profit. Each tide turned into a slaughter. The cockle banks — once vast, fertile and full of life, today have been reduced to nothing. Extinct!!!”, he writes on social media.
The loss “is irreversible, not just for the ecosystem, but for the collective dignity of a society which allows its own natural wealth to be plundered before its eyes”, he accuses.
To Boa Cama Boa Mesa, the cook states that the basis of the problem are “stealthy shellfish gatherers and fishermen, who fish without licenses”, contrary to the rules and common sense. “There are so many human predators that no one respects the closed season”, he notes.
As a result, the cockle “has all disappeared” and the other bivalves “are highly threatened”. “There isn’t a single mussel in the Ria Formosa. Razor clams, which were sold for between €7 and €11/kg, have been buying for €26 or €27 for two years. Amêijoa Boa da Ria Formosa hasn’t been in my restaurant for less than €30/kg for two years. But what worries me most isn’t the prices, it’s the ecosystem. Every guy has a boat and doesn’t respect anything. Take a whelk sponge or canilhas and catch them all, there is no control. The estuary was also full of cuttlefish and there is almost no cuttlefish left… This is serious!”, he warns.
“Tons and tons of cockles leave by truck for Spain”
Bruno Filipe Pires
In addition to the sale of “non-standard” conquilhas, clams and cockles on the street, there is “mass capture”. O chef echoes reports from people linked to fishing, with whom he spoke, who see “trucks with tons and tons of cockles leaving this area of the Algarve for Spain”.
The text he published about cockles is the first part of a reflection that should also focus, however, on oysters. As they are one of the “largest filter feeders that exist”, there are those who fear that intensive production may be contributing to the disappearance of the cockle, due to the scarcity of food, phytoplankton. However, “we cannot say this because there is still no concrete data and a conclusive study”, recalls Leonel Pereira, who needs to be aware of “all the studies carried out in the last ten to 15 years to be able to address the subject in a serious way”.
cockle
José Fernandes
The large size of the Ria Formosa does not facilitate surveillance. “It’s very big and monitoring this entire area is very difficult. There are half a dozen maritime police and today, with so many other problems, the police are involved in a thousand things. It’s obvious that they can’t control everything, because they know the estuary much better than the authorities and no one does anything. We would have to empower the forces with the power of action to capture these people”, says Leonel Pereira.
He defends greater control of the activity and consultation with the guardianship to “do something”. It will be necessary to “force people to have a license and give them basic training on what fishing is and what we have to respect”, otherwise, by not doing so, we will compromise a “dream ecosystem”, rich in life and which is not just landscape.
It’s time to say “no” and act
Leonel Pereira encourages his professional colleagues to refuse products that do not comply: “It’s not just about making posts and saying that you love Ria Formosa, it’s about taking actiondon’t buy products from these people and report what is happening, because we are all stronger together. When someone comes and asks if I want to buy clams, cockles or razor clams without an invoice and at half price, I don’t buy it. I say no thanks, you can go away. I buy everything with an invoice, because at least I know that there is a whole legal process involved in all this”.
Like the campaign he carried out to save the carabineer, the chef announces, as a form of protest, that cockles will be removed from the restaurant’s menus. restaurante Check In (Rua do Castelo, 9, Faro. Tel. 968070776), restaurant distinguished with the Sustainability Award in the Boa Cama Boa Mesa 2025 Guide. “And others will follow…”. The turbot only comes in for a few months and the game is left out. At the heart of your work as a chef has always been the balance of the ecosystem. As a result of contact with the Center for Marine Sciences at the University of Algarve, he resorted to less pressured products, such as iron and taralhão.
In terms of invasive species, he coordinated a project on the Guadiana River on the American croaker. By showing that it was valid for cooking and fishing, it was valued and the population was controlled. The same thing happened with the blue crab. Also important has been the research and use of macroalgae and, later, microalgae, as alternative ingredients.
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