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Date Published: 16/05/2022

ARCHIVED - Tabarca island in Alicante to introduce mooring fee and booking scheme

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The island on Alicante's coastline attracts around 250,000 visitors every summer

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Tabarca island in Alicante to introduce mooring fee and booking scheme

An estimated 250,000 tourists typically visit Tabaraca during the summer, a small island off the Alicante coastline where the winter population of just 55 inhabitants in the winter surges to more than 4,000 visitors a day in high season.

The only way to reach this natural treasure is by boat, and more often than not via Santa Pola port.

The island is renowned for its crystal clear waters and is a Natural Marine Reserve. And now, in a bid to protect the natural habitat and marine life, Tabarca plans to regulate moorings with a fee and reservation scheme whereby boat owners will have to dock in shifts by booking in advance.

The Valencian Government hopes that by regulating movement in this way, they can protect the marine reserve, the first in Spain, as well as the Posidonia oceanica meadows.

The move follows years of demands from local residents for measures to control the way in which tourists access the island by private means, and 200,000 euros will be invested in a field of ecological buoys that will allow boats to moor "in an organised way", as opposed to the way in which visitors arrive currently.

Also read: Alicante steps up beach police patrols earlier than usual following influx of visitors

Santa Pola Yacht Club recently met with the deputy director general of Fisheries, Francisco Beltran, and technicians, to address the impact that the plan will have for recreational boating, as the club is one that is likely to be greatly affected.

During the meeting, club representatives were told the measures are expected to come into force next summer, and that the finer details are still being assessed by the Costa Authority.

A total of 150 buoys will be installed, distributed between Tabarca beach and the area behind the port. About 110 will be exclusively for pleasure boats and the rest will be used for Tabarca services, such as the Guardia Civil and Customs services coming from Benidorm or Torrevieja.

The new rates for mooring have not yet been made public, but it is likely to depend on the size of the boat. It's hoped they will follow a similar model to the Balearics where rates range from 18 euros to 45 euros.

With regards to reserved moorings, a digital system will be introduced which includes a marine cartography that will mark permitted places.

In sandy coastal stretches that "don't violate the protection of the marine reserve", boat owners will be allowed to drop anchor and use their GPS plotter to position themselves.

Pascual Orts, president of Santa Pola Yacht Club, admits that "this regulation is necessary so that there is a control especially in high seasons", as a lack of control has caused tension between owners.

"The simple movement of the waves has led to collisions between boats because the minimum distances were not respected."

There are currently buoys to the east and west that delimit where vessels can anchor, but the type of boat and the hours that can be used are not restricted.

Image: comunitatvalenciana

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