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Thousands of people gathered around the lagoon
Photo: Edu Botella / dpa
After one of the worst environmental tragedies in Spain in recent years, 70,000 people have gathered around Europe's largest saltwater lagoon. The approximately 73-kilometer human chain covered the entire circumference of the Mar Menor, the »Little Sea«, in the Murcia region in the south-east of the country on Saturday, as reported by the Europa Press news agency and other media. A minute's silence was also observed for the thousands of animals that fell victim to the water pollution.
Last week, according to the authorities, almost five tons of dead animals were removed from the water within seven days. It wasn't the first bad incident in what was once a nature and vacation paradise. Almost two years ago, for example, around three tons of dead lagoon inhabitants - mainly small fish and crabs - were washed up. The conservative regional government and the left central government blame each other.
The cause of the mass extinction of fish is so-called eutrophication - a harmful enrichment of nutrients in the water caused by human activities. This leads to a strong increase in algae and bacteria, which cause a lack of oxygen and deprive other plant species, fish and other animals and small organisms of their livelihood. High temperatures accelerate eutrophication. Shortly before the latest catastrophe, a heat wave had brought temperatures throughout Spain of well over 40 degrees.
The Mar Menor was once considered to be one of the most beautiful areas of Spain - today you can usually only see a "green soup" that gives off a rotten stench.
Environmentalists primarily pillory the regional government of Murcia.
They do nothing against the intensive agriculture in the immediate vicinity of the lagoon, which is the main culprit for the problems.
Especially when it rains heavily, not only fresh water but also fertilizer-containing mud get into the lagoon.
In the wake of the disaster and protests, the regional government decided this week to set some environmental requirements for the area, but environmentalists rejected it as insufficient.
hba / dpa