Capturing specimens is crucial for maintaining the exhibition dedicated to the fauna of the Portuguese coast. We use various methods of capture along the coast from Cascais to the Sado estuary. The Aquarium has a boat - the "Albacora II", which is 17 metres long - prepared for trawling and equipped with four tanks, with aeration and water circulation, which are used to keep and transport the specimens.
We use other methods such as beach trawling ('chinchorro'), bait traps (cages), scuba diving, and beach harvesting at low tide (the latter two aimed mainly at collecting invertebrates).