Santa Pola opposes Generalitat directive to leave Posidonia on winter beaches

SANTA POLA town hall opposes the Generalitat’s policy of leaving washed-up seaweed on beaches from October 15 to March 15.

The regional Environment department maintains that leaving the Posidonia seaweed along the shoreline protects beaches from erosion during the winter months.

Local mayor Loreto Serrano and Beaches councillor Angel Piedecausa nevertheless want an exception made for Santa Pola.

Owing to the municipality’s proximity to the Tabarca Island marine reserve, Santa Pola receives huge quantities of seaweed, which other beaches do not, they said.

Serrano and Piedecausa also pointed out Santa Pola’s beaches are practically enclosed and wave action cannot return the Posidonia to the sea as happens elsewhere.

Removing this each month would not endanger the beaches as the town hall’s system recovers and replaces practically all of the sand removed along with the seaweed, they explained.

The town hall has now asked the Instituto de Ecologia del Litoral (Institute of Coastal Ecology) to prepare a technical report, with particular emphasis on Santa Pola’s urban beaches, where lifesavers are on duty 10 months of the year.

“Beachgoers’ continued presence during the winter months is another reason for removing the seaweed on a regular basis,” Serrano said.