ARCHIVED - 204 litres of harmful runoff water per second enter the Mar Menor via the Rambla del Albujón

Water quality in the lagoon improves marginally but the underlying problems remain unsolved

Hoteliers and hostelers warn of job losses as the sector faces a collapse around the lagoon

The most striking aspects among the latest data regarding water quality in the Mar Menor are that the oxygen level is more or less normal – a very important factor given the episode of anoxia, or lack of oxygen, which resulted in tons of dead fish and crustaceans being washed up on the beaches of the lagoon in October – and that the chlorophyll level is dropping, although this could be due more to the cooler water temperatures than to any inherent improvement.

These parameters were among those highlighted by Miriam Pérez, the head of the Department of the Mar Menor in the regional government of Murcia, during a statement made to the press on Tuesday, but on the other hand the transparency of the water in the lagoon is as low as it has been at any time in the last three years, and although turbidity has dropped this may be due only to calmer conditions allowing sediment to settle on the seabed, where it could stifle plant life.

In other words, the lack of wind and the cooling of the sea as the autumn goes on may be inevitably bringing about a slight improvement in various of the parameters taken into account in monitoring the condition of the Mar Menor, but the underlying problems causing the deterioration of the marine environment still remain. This was highlighted on Tuesday by Fernando López Miras, the president of the regional government of Murcia, who stated that 204 litres per second of water containing harmful residues are running off into the Mar Menor via the Rambla del Albujón, a flow rate which he reports has increased from 160 litres per second in recent days.

Sr López Miras, speaking at the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), reiterated that in his view it is imperative that the national government take urgent steps to stop this runoff, adding that if they don’t “it won’t make any difference what help the regional government might offer to the tourism and commerce sectors” to help them survive the hard times which it seems lie ahead.

At the same time, he underlined that his government’s Budget for 2020 contains specific reference to aid offered to the sectors which suffer losses on account of the degradation of the lagoon, while repeating that first the CHS water infrastructures administration body (dependent on the national government) must act quickly to divert the Rambla del Albujón.

This seems to be an acceptance of the fact that tourism and other sectors in and around the Mar Menor will suffer significant losses as a result of the environmental problems in the Mar Menor, and as yet it is hard to know how far the knock-on effects will reach. The 23 fishing boats based in the port of Lo Pagán which have put out to sea again in the hope of landing a reasonable catch are reporting disappointing results, and some sources state that even the few fish they brought ashore were not of interest to any buyers in the “lonja” fish market: clearly this is one sector which requires help urgently, and which if the worst-case scenario is allowed to develop may never recover at all.

As for tourism, members of Hostecar (the federation of hotel businesses in Cartagena) fear severe losses, closures and the loss of numerous jobs in the sector, not only in the Mar Menor but throughout the municipality. While businesses in La Manga may be less affected due to the proximity of Mediterranean as well as Mar Menor beaches, those along the inland coast of the lagoon face very serious problems indeed, and if fewer visitors head for the Mar Menor next summer it seems inevitable that there will also be fewer tourists in the city of Cartagena.

In this context the hotel owners and hostelers continue to demand direct, specific and rapid action to save the Mar Menor, and at a gala held in Cabo de Palos this week Cristina Sánchez, the minister for Tourism in the regional government, faced calls for action from her Department. If there is no improvement in the situation, those in the hospitality sector warn, beach bars will not open next summer, staff will not be taken on and other businesses in the area will inevitably fall into decline.

At the same time, of course, the infrastructures on which tourism depends will become neglected due to lack of demand, a situation which has already affected the reliability of the ferry service between the Puerto Tomás Maestre in La Manga and the inland shore of the lagoon.

In short, while those monitoring the Mar Menor are able to supply reliable data regarding the level of chlorophyll in the lagoon, that information is not what the hostelers and hoteliers are demanding. They want urgent steps to be taken to allow the lagoon to recover, saving jobs, livelihoods and a large proportion of the regional economy not only with a view to the summer of 2020 but also in the far longer-term future.

Images 1 and 2: @MarMenorKO

Image 3: Hostecar

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