Waste Accumulation Threatens the Reef
Despite the area’s protection measures and its ecological importance and richness, the reef in the SAC Cliffs and Seabeds of Punta de la Mona is in serious danger due to unsustainable fishing activities and uncontrolled anchoring. Hundreds of fishing lines, nets, traps, ropes, tires, anchors, and countless abandoned debris cover the reef, threatening the survival of corals and all species that inhabit it, with devastating consequences for the entire ecosystem.
Of the more than 1,000 orange tree coral individuals forming the reef, a high percentage (73%) is affected by waste that has been accumulating for decades. Most of this debris (93.6%) comes from discarded fishing gear and uncontrolled anchoring. These results once again highlight the urgent need for protection of the area and regulation of activities within it.
The debris causes severe injuries, fractures, and necrosis in corals. Similarly, large, aged coral fragments break off and fall to the seabed, where they die due to stress and starvation. In addition to the hundreds of damaged living colonies, we have identified many areas where the seabed consists solely of thousands of dead coral fragments, indicating a serious loss of population biomass. Some of these fragments exceed 70 cm, representing over 70 years of coral growth.
Unfortunately, we were facing the disappearance of a centuries-old species… and we decided to act.