Aguçadoura

Aguçadoura is a civil parish in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim, in the Porto district, situated on the Atlantic coast between A Ver-o-Mar and Apúlia. The village is associated with the traditional practice of harvesting seaweed (sargaço) from the beach, a method used for centuries to fertilise the poor sandy soils of the coastal farming plots.

The seaweed-gathering tradition, once widespread along the Atlantic coast of northwest Portugal, has largely ceased as a working practice but remains part of the cultural identity of these coastal communities. The flat coastal terrain, the long beach, and the working relationship with the sea define the character of Aguçadoura.