Seahorses bobbing while wrapped around perfectly sized neptune grass in the shallow seas of the Mar Menor, eels gliding through the waters, and fish only native to the lagoon peacefully swimming were all sights of perfect harmony within the Mar Menor’s ecosystem.
Sights that have not been seen in years due to climate change and human activity, according to Isabel Rubio, a longtime activist for the conservation of the Mar Menor. Rubio is a frequent visitor to the area as she recalls some of her earliest memories there going back to the 50s.
“Oh wow, I always loved going in the water as a child and these beautiful little sea horses would wrap their tail right around your finger and just sway,” says Rubio.
What was once such a unique beautiful booming ecosystem has now become a marine wasteland for the fish and people reliant on the lagoon. The last seahorse Rubio can recall seeing the water was 4 years ago… A group of students from the United States studying at Syracuse University came to visit the area this past week and here’s what we saw.
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| Students of Syracuse University (USA) in the Mar Menor |
As we had hoped to see the beauty Rubio described to us we were met with something none of us could have expected. On one side the students were met with a thick green algae sludge that seemed like multiple inches deep to walk through, only marine life in sight were the dead fish floating above the waters.
“It was honestly so sad to see what we saw. I can’t believe the shape this ecosystem is in, it needs help and that help needs to come fast,” said Colette Van Olden, one of the students attending the trip who studies Earth Science.
The ecosystem in the Mar Menor saw its first major consequences to intensive agriculture in 2016, it was apparent the ecosystem was collapsing, according to Marina Albentosa, a researcher at the oceanographic institute studying the Mar Menor. What was once clear water turned murky green with a few tons of fish washing up dead on shore, according to Albentosa.
In 2019, another episode similar to the last happened, except this time more fish suffocating to death… and guess what researchers say is coming in the next few weeks.
You guessed it, ore tons of fish will wash up dead on shore, according to Albentosa.
The fish are not the only thing dying by the Mar Menor, people who once loved being in the area are now running from it, according to Rubio. As we walked through some areas, sign after sign on buildings that read “Se Vende” with a phone number accompanying it.
The Mar Menor is a poor sight of what humans can do if we do not take care of the land and oceans around us. Remember we need nature, nature doesn’t need us…