Oceana Proposes Enlargement of the Cabrera National Park Area, Spain

Alexandra Cousteau met this afternoon with the President of the Regional Government of the Balearics, José Ramón Bauzá, to submit Oceana’s proposal for an enlargement of the Cabrera National Park area.

The meeting was also attended by the Councillor for the Environment, Gabriel Company, and the General Manager for the Environment, Neus Lliteras. The Majorcan oceanographer, Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of de Oceana in Europa, explained that the project would not involve increased costs, and would provide the Balearics with what would probably be the largest National Park in the Mediterranean.

Bauzá told the Oceana representatives that he found the project very interesting, as if can benefit all sectors, and encouraged Councillor Company to work with Oceana to settle any legal or other difficulties which might hinder it.

“We are very grateful to President Bauzá for holding this meeting, as we have been able directly to analyse the reasons why it would be convenient to extend the protected area in Cabrera”, said Alexandra Cousteau, an Oceana advisor. “The documents submitted by Oceana show that Cabrera has recovered and now it is one of the best conserved environments in the Mediterranean. We must continue to advance so that the surrounding areas can benefit from an equally good state of conservation”.

Oceana believes that the enlargement of the protected area in Cabrera benefits all sectors: small-scale fishermen, scientists, and sailors, as well as hotel owners, whose federation has explicitly approved this project.

“The lack of budget to enlarge the Cabrera National Park is not an argument against it, as the current electronic surveillance systems would be enough to monitor a larger area”, said Xavier Pastor at the end of the meeting. “However, the budget and the number of staff members must return to the levels before the budget cuts”.

The enlargement of the protected area would enable the conservation of deep-sea species and habitats, as well as relevant areas for fishing stocks, which are being seriously damaged by trawling. Moreover, this extension is in line with national and international regulations, which require the protection of a number of habitats and species which currently lie beyond the park boundaries.

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Press Release, March 14, 2013