Plans to extend marine reserves given the go ahead in Costa Blanca

CAMPELLO and Villajoyosa are progressing with their joint plans for extending Campello’s existing marine reserve as far as La Vila.

Mayors and councillors from both towns as well as representatives from their fishing guilds met for the second time in Villajoyosa to discuss creating a Fishing Marine Reserve. The initiative is also backed by the Institute of Coastal Ecology.

Extending the reserve is intended to create a larger protection area for the underwater meadows of posidonia or Neptune grass that support the Mediterranean’s marine diversity.

This in turn would guarantee a sustainable future for the fishing industry in Campello and Villajoyosa while protecting the environment and providing another tourism asset. Catches should increase in quantity and quality with the presence of larger fish and species like grouper.

Fishing would be barred in some zones but allowed in others during specified times of the year, using only traditional driftnets. 

By encouraging the presence of more fish, catches in zones immediately adjoining the protected area would also increase, the Campello representatives pointed out.

The next step involves hearing the opinions of Villajoyosa’s fishing sector and learning whether or not it wishes to go ahead.  If the project takes off, the reserve would be largest of its kind in the Valencian Community.