In the Azores, under the leadership of the regional government, 300,000 km² of marine protected areas were designated.

Omissions

• The official figure is 287,000 km², not exactly 300,000 km²; the 300,000 km² value is a rounded-up approximation used by media ('almost 300,000 km²').
• The network protects roughly 30% of the Azorean sea, with half of that area fully protected.
• The claim was made on 2026-07-09; the designation was completed in October 2024, and by November 2025 the regional government was still setting up the RAMPA governance bodies (a consultative council and a management authority), so the network was in an implementation phase.
• The MEP's additional assertion that the related compensations are 'stalled at the European Commission' is not addressed by the sources found for the area metric.

Sources

• PrimaryGoverno dos Açores (Regional Government of the Azores, official portal)In October 2024, the Azores created the largest network of marine protected areas in the North Atlantic, with a total of 287,000 km² ('Em outubro de 2024, os Açores criaram a maior rede de áreas marinhas protegidas do Atlântico Norte, com um total de 287 mil quilómetros quadrados').
• SecondaryWaitt InstituteThis historic decision safeguards 30% of the sea surrounding the Azores archipelago, covering 287,000 square kilometers, half of which is fully protected.
• SecondaryOceanographic MagazineAn area covering almost 300,000 square kilometres, the newly designated Marine Protected Area is now the largest in the North Atlantic network.
• SecondaryPúblicoThe Azores government will create a Consultative Council and a Management Authority to manage the region's Marine Protected Areas Network (RAMPA), indicating the network was still being institutionalised in November 2025.