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ARCHIVED - New marine protection area for the underwater canyons between Mazarrón and Cabo de Palos
Whale sightings are common where the seabed drops to a depth of 2 kilometres just 10 miles from the Murcia coastline
Hugo Morán, the Secretary of State for the Environment, announced on Wednesday that the underwater canyons off the Murcia coastline between Cabo de Palos and Cabo Tiñoso are to become a protected area, adding to the marine reserves of Cabo Tiñoso and Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas.
Sr Morán was speaking at the Our Ocean conference in Oslo, and stated that this will become a Protected Marine Area before 2024, along with eight others in Spanish waters: the sand Banks and gorges of othe Alboran Sea, the west of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Atlantic to the west and south of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Islas Chafarinas close to the north African Spanish enclave of Melilla, the central coastline of Catalunya, the Canal de Mallorca and the system of canyons of the coast of Cap Bretón.
None of the zones identified has been delimited in detail as yet, but with them being added to a list which already includes over 100 locations around 12 per cent of Spanish marine territory will be protected.
The underwater canyons off the coastline between Cabo Tiñoso and Cabo de Palos plunge to a depth of over 2 kilometres just 10 miles from the shore, and only now is information coming to light about the varied flora and fauna inhabiting them. The Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO) and the University of Alicante have begun research, and have already found, for example, that some types of coral live at over 500 metres below the surface of the sea.
These are soft corals such as Desmophyllum dianthus and Lophelia pertusa, which grow extremely slowly, by around a millimetre every year, and are highly sensitive to deep sea fishing, pollution, underwater mining and, like so many other species, the climate crisis: they are accustomed to a constant sea temperature of 12 degrees.
The same area is also part of the natural habitat of seven species of marine mammals, including three types of dolphin, pilot whales, baleen whales and sperm whales.
Spain has committed a budget of 25 million euros over the next four years to monitoring the condition of the marine environment in the protected areas, with the task entrusted to the IEO.
Main image: Cetáceos y Navegación
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