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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.28, 219-224
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
221
documentation and old cartography. Among other
interesting aspects, to the researcher did not escaped
the relevance of the tectonic conditioning, particularly
in parts of the rivers Vouga and Caima, as well as the
importance of careful geological cartography as a way
to deduce the paleo-geographic regional configuration.
The theme was taken up again the following year by
Alberto Souto (1923) that supplemented and detailed,
with new data, the previously outlined by Lucci (1918)
and Girão (1922).
Many are the articles that, since then, have been
produced. However, all of them are based on the
referred original works, only deepening and detailing
them locally (Neves, 1956; Girão, 1941; Martins,
1947
),
or using that knowledge as a basis for another
kind of works, as coastal engineering (Cunha, 1930;
Abecassis, 1955; Oliveira
et al
., 1982).
The studies that we have been referring focus
mainly on issues of geographical, geological and
geomorphological, neglecting the historical documentation
contribution. However, it should be noted that history
can and should support, as far as possible, the
inductions of geomorphological, geophysical character to
express ideas and phenomena which by its
monumentality, strangeness or significance, were
written in Historical Memory. From the point of view
of historical approach, it is clear that something has
been done. Among the historiography’s works that we
hand stand out the studies of Mattoso (Mattoso
et al
.,
1989), Silva (1991), as well as Amorim (1997). In all
these works, we find a careful concern in commodity
framing versed in natural environment, reserving even
a few unique pages to description of it. However (with
the exception for the work of
Mattoso referenced
below), it seems clear that there is no care to made the
counterpoint between human behavior and the
surrounding area at the time, given the extent to which
the same interacted and influenced. This perspective
of the relationship between Man and Nature was, at
least, analyzed by Bastos (2006), although with a
chronological approach between the 9th and the 14th
century (1325 – end of the reign of King Dinis). In
addition to these work, there are numerous articles and
small historical studies, with special emphasis on the
work of Oliveira (Oliveira, 1967) about Ovar in the
Middle Ages. In these there are a complete exposure
of written historical sources, but with a total absence
of references to the characteristics and evolution of the
physical space.
In 2012, two works presented a holistic approach, on
the lagoon of Aveiro evolution and occupation, as well
as on the exploitation of their natural resources
(Bastos and Dias, 2012; Dias
et al
., 2012).
The Parish Description used as the main (historical
source for this work) has also been analyzed by
several researchers (Capela, 2011). However the fish
fauna have never been the focus of a specific study. It
is understandable why: a work of this scope is only
possible using an interdisciplinary approach that is not
common in the scientific community in Portugal. The
specificity of such an integrated analysis demands the
abandonment of the hyper-specialization, one of the
characteristics of contemporary science, requiring the
researcher to leave their comfort zone and take with
humility his limitations to achieve the most global
possible knowledge. Such assumption, applies social
sciences and humanities as well as the exact and
natural sciences. Thus, only through an effort to get
closer to the level of the language, concepts,
methodology and paradigms usually get results as
hard as challenging (Pombo, 2005).
2 Results
Of the species identified in 1758 ceased to be referred
in the more recent documentation the following
species: trout (
Alosa alosa
), eels (
Angulla Anguilla
)
and lampreys (
Petromyson marinus
). All these species
are anadromous (live in the sea and go into the rivers
and lagoons to reproduce, such shads and trout)
or
catadromous (live in the rivers and lagoons, and go to
the sea for spawning, as the eels and lampreys).
During this work we are faced with changes of various
kinds: firstly we highlight the natural, through the
growth of sandy spit that prevented contact between
lagoon and sea and
vice-versa
, with the obvious
damage for navigation, salt production, human health,
etc. At the same time we have anthropogenic actions:
in past centuries we can highlight the construction of
mills, dams and the extraction of aggregates that
hinder or prevent the transit of the ichthyofauna. At
least, we also have environmental changes resulting
from the deployment of heavy chemical industry
(Figure 1) whose contaminated waste water were