The most important pressures in the Azores ecoregion are the selective extraction of species, marine litter, and the introduction of non-indigenous species.
These pressures are mainly linked to the following human activities: fishing, tourism and recreation, and maritime transport (view diagram). Other pressures, of minor importance in this ecoregion, include underwater noise, abrasion, smoothing, and substrate loss. The main pressures described below are defined in the ICES Technical Guidelines.
