We want a safe and sound Balearic Islands.
What is happening in Calvià? Is there overexploitation in the coastal area of Mallorca and the Balearic Islands? You don't have to be very clever to answer the question, but we have the answer to such a puzzle.
The Balearic Islands suffer from success in summer, we love them so much that we are literally suffocating them. A couple of weeks ago the Diario de Mallorca published an image in which it was seen how 52 yachts and boats anchored in the coves of Portal Vells and El Mago , all of this without respecting the safety distances to protect the posidonia and without, apparently, any regulatory body sanctioning them because ** it is prohibited by law since 2018 **, with fines of at least 100 euros.
Hours later, as reported by the Diario de Mallorca, thanks to the emergency calls to 112, the agents appeared at the scene fining 7 of the 52 boats . The truth is that the Balearic Government has currently set up a surveillance system in all the areas where the posidonia and the biodiversity of the Mediterranean , because it is protected by the European Union and is in the red list of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
These surveillance boats are the ones that inform yachts and boats at sea that they cannot anchor illegally. According to eldiario.es, in 2018 some 15 surveillance boats made 50,000 actions , but in high season they are insufficient to control the entire coastal area of the Balearic Islands.
Security rests with Ministry of the Environment of the Balearic Islands , in the General Directorate of Natural Spaces and Biodiversity and in the General Directorate of Territory Planning.
Although it is not enough, because in many beaches and coves helplessness reigns. Once again the irresponsibility and human fun is paid by nature , and our sea beds, which by the way, are of vital importance.
In addition, as reported by Diario de Mallorca, no shipmaster can claim ignorance of this law and protection because to get your license "He has had to learn to locate the Posidonia meadows on the nautical chart" . And they add that during 2018 only 42 illegal funding sanctions were processed, although a total of 5,249 cases of ships that dropped anchor in posidonia.
Why are we so irresponsible?
Images we never want to see again.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RESERVE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
The municipality of Calvia It has an extension of 145 km2, and 70% of its surface is protected area . In its 54 km of coastline there are 36 beaches and coves . Peguera, Santa Ponça, Magaluf, Palmanova, Portals Nous, Bendinat and Illetes, are some of its most important tourist centers.
Within these spaces, under your feet and the anchors of yachts and boats, you will find posidonia . But why is it so important to protect it?
“ Posidonia oceanica is an endemic marine plant It is only found in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a vascular plant with roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits, similar to land plants but that has adapted to the marine environment. It is very important to keep it It is the habitat of thousands of species , including sea urchins, starfish, molluscs, octopuses, cuttlefish and fish…”, Dr. Patricia Marti-Puig, researcher and founder of the marine environmental consultancy, told Traveler.es Oceanagami , which is dedicated to helping raise awareness and find solutions to marine environmental problems.
The presence of posidonia is an indicator that our sea is healthy , is the main source of oxygen in the Mediterranean; what's more it is the marine plant that absorbs the most CO2 and helps the water in our coves and beaches to be clean and crystal clear.
And not only that, The Balearic Islands currently have most of the posidonia in our sea -650 km2-, and therefore, they are the habitat of the biodiversity of our coasts and a marine lung.
Currently 30% has been lost, and only one large yacht, can finish with 100m2 of Posidonia . When a yacht anchors, it drags everything in its path with the mooring, taking it with it in an instant Posidonia that can take centuries to recompose . So sad, so simple.
Due to its slow growth, it takes centuries for this species to form grasslands . A stem grows approximately one centimeter per year. If we uproot a square meter of a meadow, it can take a century for the surrounding plants to fill in that gap. But, Although this process is slow, it can be recovered naturally, protecting its habitat, or artificially, actively restoring this plant”, explains Patricia.
Posidonia is vital for our Mediterranean Sea.
A PROTECTION, INSUFFICIENT?
Posidonia oceanica is very sensitive , not only to the boats, but also to the pollution and the effects of global warming . Another of its great enemies is the wastewater that is dumped into the sea.
But, Why are they not protected or have they been protected more if they are so important?
“Yes, they have been protected, but not effectively. The Balearic Islands have a large area of marine and coastal territory protected by some legal figure. **It has the largest National Park in the eastern Mediterranean **, and about 40% of the waters controlled by the regional government are declared as marine reserves , natural park or Nature 2000 area . It is a higher percentage than the European average and the Balearic Islands is ahead of many regions. What happens is that this protection has not always translated into an improvement in the conservation of the marine environment. Marine protected areas work, but fall far short of their potential ”, says Aniol Esteban, the director of the Marilles Foundation.
This private, non-profit foundation works to transform the Balearic Islands into a world benchmark for marine conservation . Its mission is to restore marine and coastal ecosystems to an excellent level of conservation and contribute to the sustainability of the region.
In 2018 they financed 11 projects with a total of 269,500 euros, and in 2019 they hope to double this figure.
Let's take care of our beaches as if they were our home.
we ask them why the coastal area of Calvià is so important and this is the answer.
“The coastal area of Calvià stands out for having the El Toro Marine Reserve , one of the best places to dive in the Balearic Islands. El Toro is a good example of what we can achieve when one protects an area. The abundance of groupers, dentex, barracuda and many other species is spectacular. Calvià also has the Malgrats Reserve ; rocky bottoms, sandy bottoms, and seagrass meadows that are not only Posidonia but also other plants such as the cymodocea which does not receive as much attention as Posidonia”, they add.
The problem is that both this area and the rest of the Balearic Islands are subject to a lot of tourist pressure. The more people in one place, the greater the impact on the sea.
“A clear example is that the inability to treat all wastewater properly it pollutes the waters in bathing areas and causes the closure of beaches. It is incredible that this happens in the 21st century. We have another example with the number of vessels and the pressure they exert on the marine environment. Menorca is the island that has best managed to withstand urban and demographic pressure , but that does not mean that it is exempt from it”, they underline from the Marilles Foundation.
Overexploitation of boats and crystal clear waters are incompatible.
THE RESPONSE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Although the management of surveillance and law enforcement falls to the Ministry of the Balearic Islands , the Calvià City Council is also doing its bit to protect its coasts. We have spoken with the general director of Tourism and Coast of the Calvià Town Hall, Javier Pascuet.
“In 2017, the City Council developed a project called _Environmental sustainability work 'Proyecto Mar' _ to evaluate the state of posidonia on the coast of Calvià and send the results and proposals to the Department of the Environment".
And he continues: "And, in the field of municipal powers, the beacons are being extended in the most sensitive coves to increase the extension of the bathing areas and, in this way, move the anchorages away from the coast. For example, since last summer, The beaconing has been extended in the coves of the Costa de la Calma ”.
They also explain that Authorization has been requested from Costas so that the beaconing allows the three coves of the Portals Vells area to be joined and thus, also expand the bathroom area. And awareness campaigns are being carried out.
“We also have the project to change the beacons type dead to ecological beacons , promote the creation of anchoring exclusion zones (as in Cala Figuera), and enable Vias Bravas, routes for diving and swimming in open waters that would prevent anchoring. In parallel, we are talking with different NGOs and entities that work on issues of posidonia protection , to carry out joint actions”.
Your yachts, our Posidonia.
LET'S BE OPTIMISTIC
Can the lost Posidonia be recovered? And in the event that it were so, how long does it take to restore? According to the experts at the Marilles Foundation, posidonia can take decades or even a century to recover , so it is vitally important to protect them as much as possible.
“ The Balearic Islands own 50% of the Posidonia meadows in the Spanish state and those in the best state of preservation. There is a very big challenge that is climate change. We know that if the temperature rises above 28 degrees, the mortality of Posidonia skyrockets and this already happened in the Balearic Islands last year. But I am optimistic about the capacity we have as a society to react and find a solution to the two other great threats to Posidonia: anchors and dirty water ”, asserts Aniol.
Marilles' analysis shows that To improve the Balearic Sea, five pressures must be reduced: professional fishing, recreational fishing, nautical sector, pollution –both by dirty water and plastics– and the population pressure.
But in addition, it is necessary to improve the Marine Protected Areas Y encourage marine environmental education , which are two excellent platforms to foster positive change. One of the possible solutions they propose is educating boaters with new applications such as ** Posidonia Maps **, with which ships can better detect protected areas.
Another one would go through rethink the number of boats that sail along the Balearic coast in summer. “There is a lot of space, but the experience for the sailor is different if he is in a cove with 10 or 15 boats, than if he is with 100 boats. One thing that I think the new government of the Balearic Islands should do is install thousands of ecological moorings around the Balearic Islands over the next 4 years. A reversible mooring system, that can be contracted online, that is financially viable and on a large scale, in coordination with all the islands and with the municipalities to create a wide range of ecological moorings".
It also goes through the responsibility that we all have and not lose sight of it even though we are having fun. No, in summer not everything goes.