The Atlantic coast of Portugal（葡萄牙(欧洲西南部国家)）, a natural wonder almost 900km long. The Portuguese and the sea have long been connected with another, but this relationship is in danger. The coast is crumbling（弄碎） away and the sea has already swallowed（ 吞下） up whole rows of houses. If this negative trend continues and we don't do anything about it, this beach might not be here much longer. Portugal is desperately（拼命地） trying to fight back in a human struggle（ 努力） against nature. The authorities are replenishing（补充） the sand on the beaches and building protective（保护的） barriers（(阻碍通道的)障碍物） and walls.

  Citizens（公民） are getting politically（ 政治上） involved to fight it. But the threat（威胁） comes ever nearer, striking（打击的） fear into the hearts of local residents（居民）. The sea flooded into our house. Water was smashing（粉碎） against the walls. Everything was shaking. We were really afraid.

  Three quarters of the Portuguese population live by the coast. What can they do when the sea becomes their enemy? How are people coping（对付） with the threat（威胁） and how are the authorities and the government reacting? Vito Cuchera is a fisherman. For generations, his family have been running a coastal（海滨的） village business in the region of Averro, on the Portuguese Atlantic coast. Maria de Fatima, Virgin（处女） Mary of Fatima, is the name of the boat Vito and his colleagues take out to sea.

  But the fishermen's working（工作） conditions are getting worse. I'm always connected to the sea and have been for a long time. I've been living this life for over 40 years now. I don't do it for the money. You barely（几乎不） earn anything nowadays（现今） for fishing. It's about love and passion.

  But you earn very little. Today the sea is calm and the wind is mild. Good conditions for the men in their boat. But coastal fishing has become increasingly（日益） difficult over the years. Small fishermen barely make a living from their catch（捕捉）. The sea had always guaranteed（保证） a modest（谦虚的） income（收入）.

  Today, many fishermen live on social transfers（转让） and subsidies（补助金）. And things are getting even more difficult due to climate change, stronger currents（（水） and coastal（海滨的） erosion（腐蚀）, according（使一致） to the fishermen from the Maria de Fatima. Torreira Beach still offers plenty of space for Vito's boat and the fisherman's equipment. But other beaches have already been swallowed up by the sea. After around an hour, Vito's crew（全体船员） veers in their net. It's a disappointing catch.

  Only a few mackerel（鲭（产于北大西洋）） and sardines（沙丁鱼） and a handful（一把） of sea bream and gilt hare bream. The region around Torreira has long been considered a good fishing location. But then the problem started. Vito can no longer fish where he lives, 30 kilometres up the coast. There's practically（实际上） no sandy beach left there anymore. Not even enough room for a beach towel.

  Now imagine putting a boat here. Fishing in Eshmorish, where I live, is on the verge（边缘） of extinction. But Vito doesn't want to give up yet. Along almost the entire（全部的） western coast of Portugal（葡萄牙(欧洲西南部国家)）, the sea is swallowing up sandy beaches and dunes（(由风吹积而成的)沙丘）, threatening（威胁） entire（全部的） villages. But hardly any other part of the country's coastline（海岸线） is as endangered as Apulia, in the north of Portugal. The development fills fisherman Adriano Rivera with dread（畏惧）.

  Adriano mostly makes a living from squid fishing. The sand dunes still offer some protection（保护）. But they are under immense（极广大的） pressure. I'm 55 years old. This dune used to be here more or less. And now look.

  Around eight metres of sand dunes have disappeared in the last few years. And nobody is doing anything about it. It's just a matter of time before the water reaches the road. It's terrible. With the sea advancing（进展） like this, and with sea levels rising, everyone is just talking about defending（保卫） the coast. There's only one thing we can do move back, as far as possible.

  The most important thing to do is to get rid（使摆脱） of the stone breakwater over there as quickly as possible. It's one of the government's building measures. And it has made everything worse. It has caused all the erosion in the area. We need to take it out and do something for the dunes so we can protect this place. Since nobody else was taking action, Adriano and his neighbours have been putting down sand sacks（大袋） and wooden stakes（树桩） for years to protect the dunes（(由风吹积而成的)沙丘） and houses.

  A Sisyphean task, which doesn't really hold back（在后） the sea. On the contrary（相反）, more and more houses are falling victim to the high tide（潮）, especially in winter. Close by is the food mile of Apulia. Around 30 seafood restaurants are located directly on the coastal road behind the dunes. The restaurant Acabana is one of them. Fisherman Adriano supplies the restaurant with fish several times a week.

  I've brought you some delicious little sardines. They are good and freshly（新近） caught. I also have a few sea bass（鲈鱼）, a few small sea breams, a gilt head bream and a sole（脚底）, direct from the sea here in Apulia. But increasingly Adriano has to listen to the restaurant owner's worries and fears about the future. The sea is threatening to swallow up the food mile. And people are saying that the local city council（理事会） wants to tear（ 撕裂） down the restaurants for safety reasons.

  Yet（但是） gastronomy is the cornerstone（基石） of the whole region's economy. It's about jobs, also in the other restaurants in the neighborhood. At least 80 to 100 jobs would be affected. Then there are around 300 jobs that would be indirectly affected. The bakeries, the fishermen and agriculture（农业）. Restaurant owner Abel Vieira feels let down by the authorities.

  As an alternative, he's demanding（要求） that a new food mile be built further away from the sea. He shows Adriano the spot. Look, this big plot of land is not being used. It would be the ideal place for new restaurants that could be built higher up, so they still have a view of the sea. It would be a big project, an ideal solution.