Mar Menor channel widening plan slammed
SEA PRARIES off Cabo Roig in Orihuela Costa could be at risk if the channels connecting the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean Sea are widened to increase the water exchange, the former president of San Pedro del Pinatar fishermen’s guild Jesús Antonio Gómez has warned.
Sr Gómez has been working as fishermen in the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean for over 50 years.
He pointed out that the ‘posidonia’ prairie is more than three miles wide and is one of the largest and healthiest on the eastern coast of Spain.
He noted that it is like a huge underwater forest and this very rich habitat provides shelter and food for many species of sea creatures.
The aim of widening the channels would be to provide a way for polluted water in the Mar Menor to flow out and allow fresh water in.
“The Mediterranean is facings its own threats and does not need polluted water from the Mar Menor damaging the prairies,” noted Sr Gómez.
The proposal was made in Murcia regional parliament and has been slammed by scientists and environmentalists.
Sr Gómez said he was already working as fisherman when the Estacio channel was opened decades ago and he and his colleagues have noticed how the Mar Menor has changed since then.
He stressed that the pollution problem in the lagoon can only be solved if the harmful spillages from farmers’ fields are halted.
“Widening the channels would only lead to lower salinity rates, the arrival of invasive species and damage the balance in habitats,” he warned.