Fishery authorities say that after five years of research, results show that the various artifical reefs along the Andalusian coast are helping to protect the region’s fish stocks as well as preventing unauthorised fishing activities. Research into how the reefs cope with trawler fleet activities, local fisheries and marine areas, has encouraged the extension of this marine ecosystem protection system. New, recently installed reefs were put in place off Fuengirola and Torremolinos under the supervision of Andalusia’s Agriculture and Fisheries Councillor Paulino Plata as part of the Coastal Strip’s Development Programme 2000-2006, in which a total of EUR 6.6 million will be invested. They join five reefs already placed in Malaga. A total of EUR 367,459 was needed to finance the most recent operation, 75 per cent of which was obtained from the European Union’s Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) and the rest from the Andalusian Autonomous Community.