Cape Verde is pushing to establish itself as a scientific hub for the Atlantic, and a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the Marine Biology Symposium in Mindelo this week marked a concrete step in that direction. AIR Centre’s Executive Director Miguel Miranda met with the country’s Minister of the Sea, Jorge Santos, to deepen scientific and institutional collaboration in the maritime sector. The meeting was promoted by Cape Verde’s Institute of the Sea (IMar), at whose invitation AIR Centre is participating in the Symposium.

The discussions covered several priority areas for Cape Verde’s maritime development. Aquaculture featured prominently, including the strengthening of its regulatory framework and the valorisation of marine products for economic and scientific purposes. The two parties also addressed the assessment of marine resources with a view to identifying opportunities for sustainable exploitation, the consolidation of the Centre of Excellence and its research laboratories, and the prospect of acquiring a new oceanographic vessel to bolster national capacity for marine research and monitoring.

Minister Santos expressed confidence in AIR Centre’s role as a strategic partner going forward, highlighting that the Ministry will work closely with the institution, in coordination with IMar, particularly on aquaculture regulation and other areas of relevance to the sector.

In an interview to TCV Televisão de Cabo Verde, Miranda captured the spirit of the moment: “IMar is a centre of excellence and it is very important that this be recognised internationally and that it be understood that we have in Cape Verde teams of very good quality, we have means of very good quality, and what is needed at this moment is that small push to affirm its international importance.”

The meeting reflected Cape Verde’s broader ambition to establish itself as a scientific hub for the Atlantic, with AIR Centre as a key partner in that endeavour.

[PC, 20 March 2026]