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The summer boating season in the Mar Menor is sparking renewed frustration among locals. Complaints are mounting about overcrowded boats, jet skis racing in shallow areas and unauthorised anchoring, even in zones meant for wildlife protection.

 

The Cartagena Maritime Authority confirms it has issued 42 fines for illegal anchoring so far this year - more than double the number recorded in past summers. Captain Óscar Villar reports that nearly 40 fines are handed out each weekend for a variety of offences, including encroaching on bathing zones and excessive navigation speeds. Fourteen of these have been for speeding, a figure many residents believe to be too low.

 

One concerned local puts it plainly: “It happens every day. I’ve been coming to La Manga since 1997 and I’ve never seen anything like this.” Boats, music and awnings now line the shallow waters between kilometres 9 and 10, where people can walk ashore to grab drinks without ever really venturing off their craft.

 

Environmental group SOS Mar Menor highlights illegal anchoring near Ciervo Island, a designated Special Conservation Area. They say breaches persist despite the 300-metre no-anchor zone, and the result is litter-strewn shores, a continuation of the problems that followed the notorious boat gathering last December.

 

They also note that restrictions have been in place since September 2023, when mooring was banned in four crucial areas of the lagoon to protect endangered seaweed.

 

The Regional Ministry of the Environment reiterates that surveillance and enforcement fall under the Maritime Authority, and reminds us that a Royal Decree already prohibits anchoring in Special Protection Areas for Birds, an environmental designation that spans the entire Mar Menor. Although there was a commitment to update that decree to better reflect current challenges, no progress has yet been reported.

 

Meanwhile, there’s been progress on the ecological front. Between March and June, workshops in San Javier, Llano del Beal, and Los Narejos gathered 228 proposals from 115 contributors across 75 organisations. These discussions, led by the Ministry for Ecological Transition’s Technical Office of the Mar Menor, feed into a €675 million strategic recovery plan. A second phase, involving 40 selected participants, will rank these proposals ahead of a full action plan due later this year.

 

But for residents who face the daily reality of boat parties and rule-breaking on the water, the urgent call remains clear: stronger enforcement, before the lagoon’s fragile balance sags under another season of abuse.

 

 

Image: Manuel Keusch/Pexels