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ARCHIVED - Thousands of dead cockles reported on the beach of Los Urrutias
Tests will determine whether the death of the molluscs was due to poor water quality in the Mar Menor
Further concerns were raised over the deterioration in water quality in the Mar Menor during the weekend when a resident of La Unión reported finding “thousands” of dead cockles at the beach in Los Urrutias, although the cause of their deaths is not known.
¡Desastre medioambiental! Ayer (08/12/2019), cerca del Club Náutico de #LosUrrutias, miles de berberechos "Fulvia fragilis" yacen junto a centenares de "Holoturias" en la orilla del #MarMenor. Imágenes: Santiago Valverde. pic.twitter.com/8nNfvSxfN2
— MeteOrihuela (@MeteOrihuela) December 9, 2019
Santiago Valverde took photographs of the scene close to the Club de Regatas in Los Urrutias and also reported that a similar number of cockles were to be found not far away in Los Nietos, although in this case they were in an advanced state of decomposition. This would appear to indicate that those in Los Urrutias had died recently, possibly as a consequence of runoff into the lagoon during the “gota fría” storm of last week, and there has been some speculation that another episode of anoxia is responsible: it was to this kind of phenomenon that the appearance of tons of dead fish and crustaceans on the beaches in the north of the Mar Menor in October was attributed, following the previous “gota fría” of September.
However, another explanation put forward by Sr Valverde, that the death of the cockles could be due to contaminated runoff water from the Sierra Minera, has been rejected by the ministry of Agriculture, Farming, Fishing and the Environment in the regional government. A more plausible explanation, according to experts, is that the storm last week caused the sea level in the Mar Menor to rise and when it fell again the molluscs were left beached on the shore.
However, the regional government has also stated that tests will be carried out to determine the cause of the cockles’ deaths.
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