FISHERMEN // Vieira de Leiria, Portugal // June, 2011 // © Publico Newspaper
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Whilst on assignment for Publico Newspaper, on a completely unrelated subject, I stumbled across a Fishermen community. I spent a couple of hours with them and found nothing but good will and a positive attitude on the face of adversity.
The village of Vieira de Leiria is known for its small and peaceful seaside ambiance with restaurants serving some of the best seafood in Portugal. The community and the beach live in harmony and interdependence as the locals themselves make sure the surrounding Nature is preserved.
The bigger and more touristic city of Figueira da Foz, about 20 kilometers north, has been preserving its own seaside. They remove sand from the bottom of the sea from the surrounding coastline and use it to fight rising sea levels and stronger, more damaging winter tides.
This has ruined the sand banks that protect smaller beaches like Vieira de Leiria and have driven them close to extinction.
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Text: Ricardo Rodrigues da Silva