One of Europe鈥檚 largest saltwater lagoons poisoned by nutrients
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鈥淚 am in love with this sea. I live for it and I live off it. If they took it away from me, I would die,鈥 said Pedro Martinez-Banos, gazing out across the sparkling waters of Spain鈥檚 Mar Menor.
A fisherman all his life, the 50-year-old father of three grew up along the shores of the so-called Small Sea in the southeastern coastal region of Murcia, casting out his nets to bring in a catch to support his family.
It had been a very good year for him, his small boat bringing in about 100 kilos per day. But that all changed on October 12 when millions of fish and crustaceans washed up on the Mar Menor鈥檚 northern shores, dead or dying.
鈥淚t is the worst thing that can happen to a fisherman, the worst thing your eyes can see 鈥 a catastrophe,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was like someone was dying, as if you yourself were dying.鈥
Many people were in tears that day as the Mar Menor spat out the sea life that had been thriving there, in a huge blow to this coastal lagoon whose warm climate and sandy beaches have proven a major tourism draw, earning it the nickname 鈥渢he jewel in the crown.鈥
Beneath the calm of one of Europe鈥檚 largest saltwater lagoons, whose coastline stretches 70 kilometers, a toxic storm has long been brewing, the product of years of nutrient pollution from intensive agriculture and rampant urban development.
Experts say the fish died of suffocation, caused by a phenomenon known as eutrophication, an environmental hazard that causes aquatic ecosystems to collapse due to a lack of oxygen in the water. With scientists warning that global warming is set to increase such phenomena, it is a topic likely to be on the agenda at the UN climate change summit in Madrid.
鈥淲hat happened in October was triggered by the high levels of contamination going into the lagoon over decades, predominantly from intensive agriculture,鈥 said Oscar Esparza, head of Marine Protected Areas at World Wildlife Fund Spain.
For years, runoff water loaded with nitrates has entered the lagoon causing a vast bloom of algae which, as it died and began decomposing, decreased the amount of oxygen in the depths, creating a pocket of toxic anoxic, or oxygen-free water that wiped out everything living there. When a storm hit in September, it triggered a process that saw the anoxic layer rising to the surface, forcing fish and crustaceans to flee for their lives.
鈥淲hat we saw went beyond the worst we could ever have imagined 鈥 death on a massive scale,鈥 said Pedro Garcia, director of regional conservation organization ANSE, warning it could happen again.
Nobody thought such a thing could happen in Mar Menor, but the scientific community had been warning about it for decades, Esparza said, describing it as 鈥渢he chronicle of a death foretold.鈥
Most of the nutrients seeped in from the Campo de Cartagena, a vast area of intensive agriculture which has grown tenfold over the past 40 years and today covers between 50,000 and 60,000 hectares.
鈥淭he Campo de Cartagena is very warm in winter and can produce two, three or in some cases even four crops per year,鈥 Garcia said, adding such intensive agriculture 鈥渘eeds a large quantity of fertiliser.鈥
But agricultural groups insist they are not responsible for the crisis.
鈥淭he sector is not producing any type of contamination,鈥 said Vicente Carrion, regional head of the COAG farmers鈥 association, saying all processes were 鈥渇ully compliant鈥 with environmental legislation.
Farmers also had to analyze the soil every year 鈥渢o ensure nitrogen deposits are not passing a certain level of enrichment,鈥 he said, adding the sector 鈥渄oes not deserve to be criminalized the way it has been鈥 over the Mar Menor.
The regional government has also come under fire, with conservationists accusing it of failing to enforce laws to protect the Mar Menor and 鈥渓ooking the other way鈥 when it came to the rampant but profitable growth of intensive agriculture and development.
However Miriam Perez, the regional official in charge of the Mar Menor, dismissed the allegation, pointing to eight emergency measures to protect, monitor and regenerate the lagoon.
鈥淲e are confident the Mar Menor will recover,鈥 she said. 鈥淎lthough it鈥檚 weak at the moment, its ecosystem is actually very strong and is able to regenerate itself. Obviously, after what happened with the storm, it needs a bit of time.鈥
The authorities have removed 1,800 tons of debris from the waters, which have cleared noticeably, and those fisherman who went back to sea last month have caught fish, but less than half the usual amount.
Researchers say the problems caused by nutrient pollution will not be resolved overnight, and that, agricultural models must change to address it.
鈥淓utrophication is a very important issue, the cost for ecosystems and for the environment is huge,鈥 said Chantal Gascuel, senior scientist at INRA, France鈥檚 National Institute for Agricultural Research. 鈥淒ecreasing nitrogen and phosphorus emissions is very important, so agriculture has to change. This is our message: the system has to be changed to significantly decrease emissions.鈥
For the Mar Menor, that means reducing the pace of regional economic development and intensive agriculture to lower nitrate flows, WWF鈥檚 Esparza said. And it should sound a warning for other maritime zones.
鈥淲hat happened here in the Mar Menor could happen within 50 years in the rest of the Mediterranean,鈥 he said.
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