- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda Golf Resort
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
ARCHIVED - Murcia government begins scheme to create mollusc bank to clean the Mar Menor
Cockles, clams and oysters naturally filter excess nutrients out of seawater
The regional government of Murcia announced on Monday that a project to create a natural filter in order to reduce the excess of nutrients in the water of the Mar Menor is to be set in motion, consisting of the creation of a bank of bivalve molluscs such as cockles, clams and oysters.
This is one of eight measures which were given approval by the regional government on 7th November last year, and its commencement at a cost of 275,000 euros was announced by Antonio Luengo, the minister for Water, Agriculture and the Environment in Murcia, following a video-conference meeting with his colleague Cristina Sánchez, the Mayors of San Pedro del Pinatar, San Javier and Los Alcázares and the Deputy Mayoress of Cartagena.
(Click here for a summary of the environmental problems of the Mar Menor and how they have been exacerbated over the last 50 years.)
The first phase of the project, which will last four months, will consist of obtaining specimen seeds of the relevant species from the Mar Menor itself (in order to avoid introducing wildlife from outside the lagoon), and these will then be included in a 6-month breeding program where young molluscs will pass through the larvae stage of their development before being released into the Mar Menor itself.
The Bivalvia, it should be clarified, are a class of marine molluscs which have a compressed body enclosed by a shell with two hinged parts, and this class includes clams, oysters, cockles, mussels and scallops. Elsewhere in the world they have been used with success at other “bio-remediation” projects, for example in Lysekil in Sweden and New York, where use was made of their role in eliminating nutrients from the water and thus improving water quality and the environment as a whole.
Meanwhile, the latest water quality data regarding the Mar Menor continue to offer grounds for concern as the temperature begins to rise prior to the summer. The level of salinity remains almost the same as on the other side of La Manga in the Mediterranean at 37.75 PSU (whereas in normal conditions the figure would be between 15 and 20 per cent higher at this time of year), transparency is to an average depth of 1.95 metres and both the oxygen and chlorophyll content are relatively stable.
During their meeting the representatives of the four local councils in the municipalities which share the coastline of the Mar Menor raised various issues, and Visitación Martínez, the Mayoress of San Pedro del Pinatar, went so far as to suggest that with salinity now higher in the Mediterranean it may be time to dredge the “golas” (the channels linking the two seas). To do so, though, would appear to imply an acceptance that the high salinity of the Mar Menor is not recoverable in the short term, and that in this respect it is no longer possible to view it as a unique marine environment.
Other topics discussed included an announcement by the CHS water infrastructures administration body that in a few days pumping will begin to remove water from the Rambla del Albujón, one of the main runoff channels by which water containing nutrients from the farmland of the Campo de Cartagena makes its way into the Mar Menor. It is reported that the 150 litres of water per second which can be diverted in this way is only half of the amount flowing in the rambla, but even so this should help to alleviate the situation in the lagoon.
But most observers agree that the most important cause of the deterioration of the lagoon is the intensive crop farming in the Campo de Cartagena, and on this subject José Miguel Luengo, the Mayor of San Javier, believes that serious efforts are being made to respect the Mar Menor in the municipality he represents.
At the same time, all of the local authorities are demanding the removal of the mud and biomass which have accumulated on beaches such as those of Villananitos, La Concha and Los Urrutias.
Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Region of Murcia and the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Mosa Trajectum
Peraleja Golf Resort
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
La Zenia
Lomas de Cabo Roig
CAMPOSOL TODAY Whats OnCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia property news generic threadWeekly Bulletin