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Date Published: 05/06/2024

Great news for the Mar Menor as dozens of seahorse and giant mussel specimens found

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These finds point to a limited recovery of threatened species in the Mar Menor

Great news for the Mar Menor as dozens of seahorse and giant mussel specimens found

Dozens of young seahorse (Hippocampus) and mussel (Pinna nobilis) specimens have been found in the Mar Menor in a recent survey carried out to track and monitor the presence of these species in the Murcia lagoon.

This discovery is great news for the conservation of these species and speaks to the improving state of the Mar Menor today on World Environment Day.

Read also: Mar Menor activist wins Green Nobel Prize

Murcia’s Regional Minister for the Environment, Universities, Research and the Mar Menor, Juan María Vázquez, described the discovery as ‘extraordinary’: “It boosts the conservation of these species in the Mar Menor, as a result of the improvement in the environmental quality of its waters, which is allowing more specimens to be seen and species to be recovered.”

Vázquez explained, “Scientists and experts have discovered numerous specimens of seahorses in recent weeks, a species that is extremely vulnerable, moves slowly and needs special conditions, such as calm, clear and shallow waters, like those found in the Mar Menor.”

A group of 23 juvenile specimens of noble pen shell or fan mussels, known in Spanish as ‘nacras’, has also been found.

“This is the first time since at least eight years ago, in 2016, that such a large group of this bivalve mollusc has been found in the Mar Menor, which is classified as a Critically Endangered species,” said Minister Vázquez.

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The specimens of nacre found so far are youngsters, from last year’s breeding event, and were located by the research team of the Aquarium of the University of Murcia, in collaboration with the University of Alicante, as part of the nacre population monitoring programme, launched by the regional government in order to monitor this species in the Mar Menor.

The Mar Menor is one of the few remaining refuges for these mussels worldwide, so conservation and protection is a priority since the population in the wild has decreased by 99% in the Mediterranean, which is its natural habitat.

These are not tiny mussels. They can reach over 1 metre in height and is the second largest bivalve in the world. An emblematic species endemic to the Mediterranean, living in association with underwater grass meadows of Posidonia oceanica the population of Pinna nobilis has been reduced to the point of virtual extinction.

Murcia’s Regional Government is promoting several actions aimed at the protection and conservation of this species, such as the research work carried out at the Species Bank, which depends on the University of Murcia to try to succeed in ensuring reproduction in captivity of this species so that it does not become extinct.

In addition, it has been made illegal to weigh anchor in certain areas around the Perdiguera and Baron islands in the Mar menor, as well as in the coastal area of Punta del Galán and Matas Gordas, to protect this and other species.

Image 1: CARM

Image 2: IUCN Med