Community, Galpemur, City Council, EU and other entities promote the dissemination of natural heritage and sports tourism
A Cartagena diving guide will highlight the rich submerged heritage that has contributed to placing the Region of Murcia as one of the main tourist destinations in the country related to the sport of diving. The Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and the Environment of the Autonomous Community, Antonio Luengo, highlighted in the presentation “the rich historical, cultural, industrial, civil and military heritage of the port city, as well as another submerged of the first magnitude” .
The guide has 154 pages translated into English and proposes 55 itineraries from Cabo Tiñoso to Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas. The objective is the promotion and tourism promotion linked to this sport. Not in vain, the Cabo de Palos marine reserve already hosts more than 22,000 dives a year.
The mayor, Noelia Arroyo, stressed that the document has been promoted by the City Council of Cartagena and Galpemur, and developed by Oceanographic. The Oceanographic Institute, the UPCT, the Fishermen’s Association, the official sport diving centers, the diving federation, the Port authority, the Maritime Captaincy, the Navy and the management entities of the marine reserves have also given their support.
The project is funded by the Murcia Region Fisheries and Aquaculture Local Action Group (Galpemur). The financing percentages are 85 percent by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the remaining 15 percent by the Autonomous Community of Murcia.
Luengo referred to the decisive role of marine reserves, “because they help preserve the areas of greatest ecological value for their conservation and the regeneration of fishing resources.” Likewise, the counselor outlined that Cartagena is the only municipality in Spain that has two National Marine Reserves of Fishing Interest: Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas since 1995 and Cabo Tiñoso since 2016. In addition, the regional government is working to declare the Marine Reserve of Cabo Cope Fishing Interest.
Cove El Cañonero
“This will make Murcia the Region with the largest number of marine reserves of fishing interest per kilometer of coastline, since there will be three in its 175 kilometers,” stressed the counselor. And he spoke of the project to expand Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas by 190 hectares, to go from 1,898 to 2,088. The new area affects areas of coves, which are of great interest for spawning and recruitment of species. The new limit of the protected area will be El Cañonero cove, to protect fish and other marine animals.