Holiday warning to anyone travelling to Spain over 48 'black flag' beaches
An urgent warning over almost 50 'black flag' beaches in Spain has been issued to British holidaymakers.
Spanish environmental campaign group Ecologists in Action has highlighted the worst offenders in a new report. The group has awarded 48 black flags after inspecting more than 8,000 km of the coast.
The report includes the most serious environmental conditions on the Spanish coast and warned there "could be many more flags that we award year after year".
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Chemical pollution, marine waste, over-development and sewage discharges were just some of the issues highlighted in the report. A spokesperson for Ecologists in Action said that "touristification and urbanisation of our coastline" was one of the biggest problems Spain's coastline faced.
A spokesperson said: "A problem that especially affects the Canary Islands, whose population is organizing, under the cry of “The Canary Islands have a limit”, to reject the numerous attacks and threats that endanger the conservation of these islands and the future of future generations.
"The metabolism of tourist activity in the Canary Islands is highly intensive in the requirement of large quantities of materials and energy that are not available, and in turn generates enormous quantities of waste and pollutants that are incapable of being assimilated by the territory itself.
"The footprint ecological situation of the Canary Islands corresponds to that of a territory 27 times larger. In other words, we need a territory 27 times larger to satisfy all the demands of the economic model and development of the archipelago."
Another problem the report highlighted is the "high concentration of plastics". The group issued a warning over the dumping of plastic pellets affecting the Galician coast at the beginning of the year.
A spokesperson said: "Far from being an exclusively Galician problem, high plastic pollution reaches the beaches of the Costa Dorada, almost more plastic than sandy, affected by the great environmental problem derived from the discharge of pellets from the Camp de Tarragona petrochemical complex."
These are the 48 'black flag' beaches Brits have been warned about
La Farella, Girona, Catalonia
Various beaches on the Costa Brava, Girona, Catalonia
Comarca del Maresme, Barcelona, Catalonia
Sant Adrià del Besò, Barcelona, Catalonia
Camino de Ronda, Tarragona, Catalonia
Playa de la Pineda, Costa Dorada, Tarragona, Catalonia
Playa de L'Estany-Capicorb, Castellon, Valencia region
Playa de Burriana, Castellon, Valencia region
Beaches at the Parque Natural de l'Albufera, Valencia, Valencia region
Puerto de Valencia, Valencia, Valencia region
Barranco y playa del Amerador, Alacant, Valencia region
Playas de Cap l'horta, Albufera, Postiguet and San Gabriel, Alacant, Valencia region
Mar Menor, Murcia region
Portman Bay and Sierra Minera, Murcia region
Playa Quitapellejos-Palomares, Almeria, Andalucia
Playa de 'El Lancón' en Carboneras, Almeria, Andalucia
Playa de Castell de Ferro, Granada, Andalucia
Playa Granada y Poniente, Granada, Andalucia
Playas de Malaga, Malaga, Andalucia
Coast of Malaga, Malaga, Andalucia
Tarifa, Cadiz, Andalucia
Costa de Trafalgar, Cadiz, Andalucia
Huelva river, Huelva, Andalucia
El Portil, Huelva, Andalucia
Aldán river, Concello de Cangas, Pontevedra, Galicia
Arousa river and Pontevedra river, Pontevedra, Galicia
Minera de Galicia, A Coruna, Galicia
Pereiro river and Ramisqueira river, A Coruna, Galicia
Alcoa pond, Lugo, Galicia
Galician coast, Lugo, Galicia
Port of Figueres, Asturies
Villaviciosa, Asturies
Playa de Usgo, Cantabria
San Román de la Llanilla, Cantabria
Lamiako marsh area, Bizkaia, Basque Country
Gernika and Murueta, Bizkaia, Basque Country
Santa Clara Island, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country
La Concha Island, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country
Cala Xarraca, Ibiza, Balearic Islands
Playa de Talamanca, Ibiza, Balearic Islands
Port of Melilla, Melilla
Melilla Bay, Melilla
Monte Hacho, Ceuta
Playa de Desnarigado, Ceuta
Playa Blanca, Las Palmas, Lanzarote, Canary Islands=
Corralejo Dunes, Las Palmas, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
La Tejita Beach (Granadilla), Puertito de Armeñime (Adeje), Tenerife, Canary Islands
Northwest coastline of Tenerife, Canary Islands
You can read the full report here