Spanish fishing marine reserves: 11 priority destinations to practise diving in unique habitats

Recreational diving in marine reserves is regulated to offer a quality experience by combining the conservation of marine spaces with raising awareness of divers through being able to enjoy this type of leisure activity.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has published a brochure to highlight the conditions that should be respected to enjoy recreational diving in a responsible fashion generally and particularly in marine reserves of fishing interest in Spain.

It is available in English and Spanish so as to reach the widest possible public.

Reserves offer great added value thanks to the recovery of their marine resources. They have turned into priority destinations for lovers of underwater photography and archaeological heritage.

The Open Fotosub Island of El Hierro Contest has been, since 1996 - the year in which the reserve was created - a classic open underwater photography competition and one of the most prestigious in the world.

Some reserves are also home to assets of cultural interest that belong to archaeological heritage. Divers, in their habitual diving routines, have become spotters of these assets which, once located, are notified to the archaeological authorities.

Against the current backdrop of climate change, it is pressing to protect the health of our seas and oceans. Through marine reserves, society as a whole, concerned by the loss of marine bio-diversity, clearly perceives their benefits.

Benefits to the economy and heritage

Local fishermen benefit from the "overflow" effect or the export of biomass, which has been documented in Spanish marine reserves. This means that due to the increase in the density of a species of fishing interest within a reserve, a maximum capacity is ultimately achieved of this species within its boundaries, leading to emigration from inside the reserve to its surrounding areas.

However, in addition to helping fishing and protecting eco-systems, marine reserves facilitate the exercise of environmental quality activities, such as tourism and certain leisure activities such as diving.

They also play a key role in research to understand the impact of human activities on nature.

11 marine reserves of fishing interest, eight in the Mediterranean and three in the Canary Islands

At present, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food manages 11 marine reserves of fishing interest, of which five are exclusively managed by this department, while the other six are jointly managed with the regional governments.

Masía Blanca Marine Reserve

With an extension of 457 hectares, this is the smallest marine reserve in the network. It is located off the beaches of El Vendrell and Coma Ruga, in the province of Tarragona.

Its sea beds include examples of infralitoral communities of great interest, such as the Posidonia oceanica marine plant beds.

Levante de Mallorca-Cala Rajada Marine Reserve

This reserve has an extension of 11,285 hectares off the coasts of the municipalities of Artà and Capdepera, on the island of Majorca. The fishing sector in the zone is characterised by the high annual alternation or rotation of the different forms of artisanal fishing.

There is a noteworthy presence of beds with varieties of free calcareous algae that make up the maërl beds, a habitat where the sea snail (Charonia rubicunda) lives. The low-light communities are also singular there.

Columbretes Islands Marine Reserve

With a current extension of 4,493 hectares, this is located on the marine shelf off the coast of Castellon, at a distance of some 30 kilometres, halfway between the Balearic Islands and the coast of Valencia. This is an emblematic reserve located within the sphere of influence of the effects of the River Ebro.

The sea beds of the reserve are home to a wide variety of species, some of which are rare in other parts of the Mediterranean, and they include various environments: walls and cavities with reduced light and coraligenic communities with a variety of gorgonian coral, and small coral reefs and banks.

Tabarca Island Marine Reserve

This is the oldest marine reserve in the network. It has an extension of 1,754 hectares around Tabarca Island, located off the coast of Santa Pola in the province of Alicante.

The ocean floor is covered by Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds in an excellent state. The oxygen produced by this plant purifies and enriches the water, while the vegetation covers an area for breeding and refuge for a large number of larvae and for the breeding of fish.

Cabo de Palos-Hormigas Islands Marine Reserve

This marine reserve protects a Surface area of 1,931 hectares off the coast of Cabo de Palos, to the south of Mar Menor, in Murcia, around the Hormigas Islands. Here currents from the Mediterranean merge with currents from the Atlantic that arrive through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Here there are communities of shallow marine water with Posidonia oceanica sea beds of in the shallower waters and a seamount made up of several submerged mountains and shoals, which rise from the depths with coraligenic communities until close to the surface, in an environment of strong marine currents.

Cabo Tiñoso Marine Reserve

With a total extension of 1,173 hectares, it is located between Plana Isle and Cala Mojarra, just off the coast of the Isle of Las Palomas in Murcia. It is known for its high ecological value, which includes, among other, the presence of marine phanerogam and underwater caves.

There is a noteworthy presence of populations of marine birds, such as the European Storm-petrel and the Cory's shearwater. It is considered a key natural space for the conservation of the bottlenose dolphin and the loggerhead turtle, as well as the presence of other cetaceans, such as the black sperm whale, the striped dolphin and the seasonal visits of fin whales and sperm whales.

Cabo de Gata-Níjar Marine Reserve

This reserve, with an extension of 4,653 hectares, is located in a confluence zone of currents, warm waters from the Mediterranean and other colder and less salty waters from the Atlantic Ocean that merge off the coast of Cabo de Gata, forming an area of high productivity and biological wealth.

Noteworthy species of interest for conservation purposes include orange coral, molluscs and gastropods which form, together with Algas Calcareas, a rigid structure known as vertimid reefs, similar to tropical coral reefs.

Isle of Alboran Marine Reserve

This reserve is located in waters around the isle in the Alboran Sea, which is the westernmost point of the Mediterranean Sea and a nexus between the waters of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It has an extension of 1,650 hectares around the island and the Bajo de la Piedra Escuela.

The Alboran Sea is very important at both a European and global level, due to its populations of cetaceans and turtles, since it forms the only thoroughfare between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean for highly migratory species of these groups, although there are also resident populations of cetaceans.

Graciosa Island and Small Islands to the North of Lanzarote Marine Reserve

This is the largest marine reserve in the whole network, with a total extension of 70,439 hectares. It comprises the waters of the Chinijo Archipelago, made up of a group of volcanic isles and small islands, like the whole of the Canary Islands, located to the north of the island of Lanzarote.

The bodies of water are influenced by the phenomenon of the upwelling of cold, rich waters produced off the coast of Africa. Rocky and abrupt sea beds predominate, with an abundance of caves, fissures and tunnels, in a zone with an extensive marine shelf, exceptional in the Canary Islands.

Isle of La Palma Marine Reserve

This reserve has an extension of 3,455 hectares that occupies the strip of sea off the western coast of the Isle of La Palma, in the Canary Islands.

It is characterised by a slight continental shelf, which is replaced by abrupt sea beds of great scenic and biological value, with many fissures, caves and tunnels that host communities of great interest.

Punta de La Restinga-Mar de Las Calmas Marine Reserve

This reserve is located in the southwestern sector of the Isle of El Hierro, off the coast of the town of La Restinga, sheltered from the dominant trade winds in the Canary Islands. Its extension is of 1,180 hectares, and it is the most southerly marine reserve in Europe.

The waters of this zone are the warmest in the islands, with communities of tropical species that cannot be found or are unusual in the rest of the islands. The sea beds re rocky and abrupt, with banks, caves, tunnels and shoals. Two noteworthy examples of these are El Bajón and La Punta de Los Saltos. The vegetation cover is very dense, with Algas Calcareas and Brown algae predominating.

The latest reserve created was Cabo Tiñoso (Murcia) in 2017, which is expected to soon be joined by Sa Dragonera (Balearic Islands) in the network of marine reserves of fishing interest.

Non official translation