One hundred boats go to a macrobotellón in an agonizing Mar Menor

This summer the fires devastate our forests, the natural parks suffer an intense drought and, in the Region of Murcia, the

subsists sentenced by agricultural nitrates, which has not been an obstacle for it to be the scene of

that According to experts, they aggravate the situation of this fragile ecosystem.

A boat at sunset on the Isla del Ciervo in the Mar Menor is a beautiful postcard.

in a critical situation like the one held last weekend is an "illegal event" (confirmed by the authorities) and an activity that endangers the recovery of this ecosystem (as the experts say).

It is not the first party.

In 2021, it was celebrated two days before and in the same place where the second massive fish die-off occurred, an ecocide that lasted several weeks and is now a year old.

The event was called by a local music group that has not responded to questions from this medium.

Everything points to the fact that for their last live show over the waters of the Mar Menor, which on the Isla del Ciervo

, they again lacked permits.

According to the Cartagena City Council, there is no record of any request to organize the concert.

The Maritime Captaincy of the port city did not authorize the massive concentration of pleasure boats either.

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To clarify terms, a concert in a public space requires a performance permit, a safety assessment, a policy that specifies who assumes civil liability in the event of possible accidents by attendees, and an intellectual property license.

If it is at sea and the public attends on different boats, the concert becomes a nautical concentration

"which is governed by Decree 62/2008 of the Captaincy. It requires formalizing documentation and establishing a security device," he tells EL MUNDO Óscar Villar, Maritime Captain of Cartagena.

"All of this has been breached.

," adds Villar.

"Considering that Mar Menor is not at its best moment, that it is a bird protection area (

) and that these festivals mean that attendees throw waste into the water, I would not have authorized it."

Villar mentions that they are conducting an investigation to analyze what happened.

"A maritime bottle is an activity that is not planned as such and we have very limited means. Dozens of people bathing in the sea consuming alcohol, jet skis that are prohibited from sailing at night... an accident could have occurred," he says .

While the macro party was taking place, indignation grew on social networks.

No one stopped her despite calls to the authorities.

"The Department of Citizen Security has no jurisdiction in this matter, so

," the Cartagena City Council assures this medium.

"The one that lifts the sanction for an illegal action at sea is the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard," Villar points out.

Some citizens tried that route.

"

They told me that music and an entertainer could be heard from Plaza Bohemia (in the Mediterranean)," comments a representative of the SOS Mar Menor collective.

"I called the Civil Guard. They told me that they did not have the means to go. That they needed a boat and they did not have it. That I should file a complaint the next day to pass the complaint to the Government Delegation," he explains.

Once the party is over, the only thing left is not to repeat it.

The Government Delegation in the Region of Murcia assures this newspaper that the Cartagena Maritime Captaincy and the Civil Guard are preparing a joint device so that it does not happen again.

The Ministry downplays the illegal event

Isla del Ciervo is a natural park included in the Open Spaces and Islands of the Mar Menor.

As part of the salty lagoon, it is part of the Red Natura 2000 space;

it is a Place of Community Importance (LIC);

a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA);

and a Specially Protected Area of ​​Interest for the Mediterranean (ZEPIM).

Although a concert occurs once,

.

It produces stress, color changes, internal injuries, developmental delays, malformations, disorientation and death.

This was reported to this medium by Katja Philippart, an expert in marine ecosystems at the University of Utrecht.

For Francisco Robledano, director of the Department of Ecology at the University of Murcia and member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Mar Menor, this festival "is the finishing touch that we give to a very mistreated ecosystem."

Robledano emphasizes that

that is not in accordance with the dimensions of the tourist exploitation of the area.

However, the own Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment and Emergencies of the Region of Murcia shows no concern about the facts.

Counselor Antonio Luengo commented on Tuesday that he is not opposed to these concentrations in the Mar Menor.

Despite the fact that the party lacked licenses and affected a protected area under his jurisdiction, the counselor thinks it is "reasonable and appropriate" that they occur, "both in the Mar Menor and anywhere."

Luengo

something that is not fulfilled in the large bottles that have plagued the community for decades.

In Cartagena, gatherings to drink alcohol are common.

Glasses, bottles and bags end up thrown off the cliffs or abandoned on its beaches, as the neighbors denounce.

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