Aquaculture | A paradisiacal ecosystem in Fuseta | Ria Formosa Natural Park | Between Tavira and Olhão

MILL OF THE ILHÉUS

The Mill of the Ilhéus is located on a 20-hectare (6.2-acre) property in the Ria Formosa, Livramento, halfway between Tavira and Olhão, in the Algarve, southern Portugal.
The Ria Formosa Protected Area is the geological continuation of the larger Doñana Natural Park Nature Reserve in Spain, the largest and possibly most important protected wetland area on the planet.

A private property in one of the most privileged areas of the Ria Formosa, a designated protected area in one of Portugal's richest ecosystems.

It's like a mini-protected area, completely preserved, free from contamination, with all the water circuits activated exclusively by the natural force of gravity, without artificial water pumping.

Immensely rich in fauna, particularly endemic fish and crustaceans, it was—for over a decade—the largest intensive fish farming facility in Portugal. We consider it ideal for a sustainable project with a multi-trophic approach, which is currently the model promoted by national and international authorities.

With careful management, it will easily produce high-quality, high-yield products with a ROI higher than typical market rates. It includes a large, properly licensed building area. In the Ria Formosa protected area, this represents a unique proposition, as construction is completely prohibited.

These licensed areas can be used to support production, for tourism, or for breeding purposes.

The building mentioned in the property certificate, a traditional tidal mill, is clearly valuable for any high-end tourism venture.

The property has been in the same family since 1937 and has been used as a tidal mill, as a sea salt distillery, organic fish farming, intensive fish farming (TIMar, a fish farm project by Tiedemann, Norway), and now back to the original low-pressure organic production of premium marine products. From this intensive fish farming phase, we still maintain all the infrastructure built by TIMar on the property, which is available for projects that can make good use of it.

Currently, this infrastructure is not in use.