A follow-up meeting of the Posidonia Surveillance Service served yesterday to deal with the controversial issue of the interaction of boats with the whales as they pass through the region, which has been so commented on in recent weeks. The Regional Minister for the Environment, Mireia Mollà, the Autonomous Secretary for Tourism, Paula Tuzón, the associations ANEN (National Association of Nautical Companies) and UEN, and the Marina Alta Nautical Tourism Association (ATNMA) attended the meeting.
The meeting sought to address this issue, since several sightings have been recorded very close to the coast and this has caused the astonishment and curiosity of the users of the sea. Faced with the possibility that these encounters with whales become more common, Environment wants to work on the preparation of informative educational material, which can be disseminated among users of recreational boats.
“From ATNMA we have offered to collaborate to spread any informative material that helps how to act when faced with whale sightings. We have told them that boat owners are not used to encountering whales and there is a lack of knowledge of what to do in these situations. There are in other areas such as the Canary Islands that they are more used to, but in the Marina Alta it is very exceptional”, commented Ricardo Burriel, President of ATNMA.
Posidonia Surveillance Service
On the other hand, the main objective of the meeting was to monitor the Posidonia Surveillance Service, which was launched this summer as a result of the new Decree on Posidonia. For this reason, once the summer campaign is over, the Ministry of the Environment will take stock and draw conclusions about the performance of the Posidonia Surveillance Service.
With this information, they will prepare didactic material on all the topics that they consider important and will present it to the different associations. Once the information is agreed upon, it will be disseminated to sea users through ATNMA and the rest of the groups.
“As always, we are predisposed to help in everything that results in a better education of lovers of the sea, so that they can enjoy it safely and respectfully with the environment. Almost everything can be improved with training rather than with the ban”, assures Ricardo Burriel.
