Princess Alice Bank
The Princess Alice Bank () is a submerged seamount located southwest of the island of Pico and southwest of the island of Faial in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The western area of the bank has a minimum depth of , with clear waters allowing observation of the ocean floor from the surface. With an abundance of biodiversity, the bank is a fishing area, in addition to being an important diving spot of the Atlantic Ocean. History. The bank was named after the oceanographic campaign of Prince Albert I of Monaco, whose research vessel "Princess Alice" was involved  in its discovery on 9 July 1896. On that day, at 6:00 a.m., at the beginning of a deep water exploration, rocky ledges were discovered deep. After scouring the area, the group discovered an extensive "platform", with a perimeter of about , and two extensions of in length. The platform was below the surface, although the peak is only from the surface. The bathymetric survey was entrusted to captain Charlwood Henry Carr (1848-1918), who was also the prince's field assistant and navigator of the "Princesse Alice". Carr was responsible for the original depth measurements at Princess Alice Bank. On  13 July 1896, from Faial, Prince Albert telegrammed King Carlos I of Portugal announcing the discovery and informing him of the usefulness of the bank for fishing. Returning to Monaco, on 21 August, the prince circulated a press statement reporting the discovery and stressing its importance to Azorean fisheries. In gratitude for the discovery, King Carlos awarded the prince with the "grand collar" of the Order of Santiago, having already granted Captain Carr the honorific degree of master of the Order of St. Benedict in 1894. Increasingly Princess Alice Bank has become one of the main areas for fishing exploration  within the Central Group of the Azorean islands. Geography. An area of around the bank, measured from the coasts of the closest islands, was established by the European Union as a reserve for Azorean fishermen. Princess Alice Bank is one of the main points of friction, or disagreement, in the current dispute between the Regional Government of the Azores and the European Union regarding the reform of the common fisheries policy.