In the Sal Island (Cape Verde) there is a growing involvement, will and investment in the creation of tourism synergies. However, much of the economic potential of the island can be found submerged in the sea: it is its intrinsic 'biodiversity'. Due to this fact, and in order to balance environmental safety and human pressure, it has been developed a strategy addressing both diving and fishing purposes. That strategy includes the deployment of several artificial reefs (ARs) around the island. In order to allocate demand for diving and fishing purposes, we have developed a socio-economic research approach addressing the theme of biodiversity and reefs (both natural and artificial) and collected expectations from AR users by means of an inquiry method. It is hypothesized a project where some management measures are proposed aiming marine biodiversity conservation. Using the methodology named as analytic hierarchy process (AHP) it was scrutinized stakeholders' perception on the best practice for marine biodiversity conservation in the Sal Island. The results showed that to submerge obsolete structures in rocky or mixed areas have a high potential, but does not gathers consensuality. As an overall conclusion, it seems that limitation of activities is the preferred management option to consider in the future.
Marine biodiversity conservation; artificial reef project; Sal Island (Cape Verde); underwater tourism; Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)