Mar Menor environmental groups demand tougher boat and jet ski rules
Ahead of the summer surge, campaigners want speed limits reduced and the fragile Mar Menor lagoon better protected
Eleven neighbourhood and environmental groups have criticised the lack of action to protect the Mar Menor lagoon, more than a year after a Royal Decree was approved to limit boat traffic in the area.
The groups say that the measures needed to meet the goal of “reducing the impact caused by ships and boats, including recreational vessels and jet skis” have not been taken. They describe the situation as “unacceptable, given the current state of crisis of the lagoon ecosystem.”
In a joint statement, Pacto por el Mar Menor, the Federation of Associations of Cartagena and the Region, Ecologists in Action, Greenpeace and seven other organisations from the Region of Murcia raised concerns about the environmental damage. They warned of the risk of further harm “with the approaching summer,” when the number of boats and jet skis in the area increases.
The groups said that the Ministry has still not fulfilled its promise to approve a new law that would clarify where boats can and cannot anchor in the Mar Menor. Furthermore, they claim that the rules set out in 2019, which declared Special Conservation Zones for endangered marine species, aren’t being followed either.
According to the organisations, there are currently “10 nautical-sports facilities offering 3,937 mooring points, around 65% of the regional supply, to which must be added the more than 2,250 boats anchored outside nautical facilities”.
Incredibly, 75% of all jet skies in the Region are said to be floating in Mar Menor waters, which has a huge impact on the aquatic environment and birdlife.
The Royal Decree sets a maximum speed of 20 knots, or about 37 kilometres per hour, for boats and other leisure craft and vessels in the Mar Menor. They believe this speed is far too high for such a fragile ecosystem and suggest reducing the limit to 12 knots.
Residents and environmentalists also said the rules “are not being enforced, especially in the case of jet skis,” and that this is causing “damage to the ecosystem” and creating “risky situations” for other users, such as sailboats.
Just as damaging is the “massive and uncontrolled anchoring” of boats in threatened areas of the lagoon, such as the reed beds and the area around the islands.
They believe it is “urgent to install sufficient ecological anchorages around the islands to prevent boat anchors from reaching the bottom and damaging underwater seagrass meadows and giant mussel colonies.”
The groups are also calling for a management plan that includes information about the status of marinas, a full count of boats in the area and a study of how much activity the ecosystem can handle.
Also of interest: New research uncovers cause of Mar Menor's mysterious white stain
Image: Pexels
