Blue shark closes Torreguadiaro beach for five hours

(Photo: europasur.es)

SAN ROQUE / Torreguadiaro An unexpected visitor to the beach at Torreguadiaro forced the red danger flag on the beach at Torreguadiaro yesterday, and to warn of the possibility of danger from Sotogrande to Cala Sardina. The blue shark (Prionace glauca) appeared very close to shore at about 9.30, near the Sotogrande breakwater; it was a worker at one of the beach bars who later gave the alarm. While this small, 2m shark is not considered dangerous to humans, the red flag went up at about 10, and was kept there until 3 in the afternoon with no further sightings. The Seprona unit reported seeing that the shark presented an injury close to the head, possibly caused by a fishing net, and thus causing the erratic behaviour observed at the time.

Beaches that allow dogs in Spain

SPAIN It seems that although there are strict rules about not allowing dogs on beaches throughout the country, an increasing number of councils are making room for pets - usually a small beach or the part of a beach. A very informative website, Red Canina, gives a breakdown of the very few of them for 2013 (see map). As you will see, there is only one such beach in Andalucía, near Casares, described as 'a small beach full of pebbles'. Red Canina also gives information on what hotels allow dogs, some for free, others not.>>>

Summer beach buses for inland villages

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR As from next Saturday, 29, and until September 1, residents of San Pablo de Buceite, Jimena de la Frontera, San Martín del Tesorillo and Castellar will be able to come and go - on weekends - from the beach at Torreguadiaro during the day. The Transport Consortium of the Campo de Gibraltar has also approved a repeat of last year's successful 'night owl' service covering routes between La Línea - Algeciras and Algeciras - Tarifa, which starts at 21.45 and ends at 8.00 in the morning; the service is available now and ends on September 8. We will be offering a comprehensive schedule for these and other bus lines as soon as we can decipher the consortium's website schedules... watch this space!

Sewage dumped out to sea - again

(Photo: europasur.es)

Pollution has been going on for years

LA LÍNEA The sewage outlet on the Poniente beach (the Western one) has once again seen to be dumping sewage into the sea. The matter was raised by local residents, who complained about an 'unendurable' smell. They also pointed out that this offered a very bad image as the promenade area is the major access to the town. This is nothing new, of course, as La Línea's sewage system is notoriously deficient and has been for years, with spillages not only at the Poniente beach, but also at Levante and El Burgo, all of which have outlets. The beaches are frequently closed in the summer, although they are usually blocked up to avoid the problem during the high season.

La Línea plans nudist beach

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LA LÍNEA Earlier this month, a plenary session of La Línea's Council voted on several regulations that should come into force this summer. One of these was the proposal that the beach at Torrenueva should be open to nudists. The matter -and others- was approved temporarily with all parties, except the PP, voting in favour. Another point debated but not on the agenda was the fact that La Línea owes €39million in taxes and Social Security payments. The frontier town continues to spiral downwards financially - nudist beaches may not be the solution, though. (Comment over coffee this morning: "They'll be swimming over in droves from Gibraltar, then.")

200 rescues in area beaches on Tuesday, less today

Waves at Conil, danger below

Due to heavy backwash and waves · Red flags still up today

Prov. of CÁDIZ The weather has been playing havoc with bathers at local beaches. Heavy seas, particularly the dangerous, invisible undercurrents and large waves, have caused almost 200 rescues along the coastline of the province of Cádiz, especially at Conil, Vejer and Chiclana. One member of the rescue team at Conil said on Tuesday, "There was a rescue call every five minutes" - a slight exaggeration but he was tired. The only beaches that did not register any significant such activity were>>>

Neighbours demand action on dogs on the beach

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Number of abandoned dogs increases in the summer

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) There are local laws about dogs on the beach - mostly, it is forbidden all over Spain. However, like so many rules in the country, the laws are flouted. But finances being as they are, it is noticeably how many fines are being issued for doing so. At El Rinconcillo, for instance, it was the neighbours who recently denounced the presence of dogs on the beach there, with the corresponding amount of excrement in the sand. They are also criticising the number of abandoned dogs and cats in the vicinity, something that happens every summer, when their owners want to go away for a month and just dump them.

Jellyfish catch limited by Levante winds

Volunteers helping to clean up in better weather

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) This year's plague of jellyfish -stings by which we are getting increasing reports- is playing havoc with bathers at practically the entire coastline of Andalucía, and no doubt a lot of other places in Spain and Portugal. In Algeciras, two boats went out yesterday carrying a net donated by one of the fishermen. It is a very thin but quite long net that needs two boats to drag all four meters of it. It is good at catching the jellyfish but lets the rest of the fish free. However, it cannot drag on the bottom yet must be close enough to the beach. Yesterday, it was taken out on trial, but time was limited by a strong Easterly wind, the infamous Levante (spelled like this, Gibraltar, without an r at the end!). Only 50 kilos of jellyfish were taken, but there is hope that it will be possible to do a lot more soon.

Junta says beach parking charges are illegal

Los Lances Beach, Tarifa

TARIFA (Agencies) As we reported here, the Council decided, probably in financial desperation, to begin charging for parking near the municipality's beaches this summer. Local residents have complained about it in the media and have obtained permission to park for free if they can show they reside in the municipality. In the meantime, the Junta de Andalucía has decided that the charges are illegal at eight of the ten spaces allotted by the Council to parking. The Junta's Environment Council has a Beach Demarcation department that established what is and what is not public land near the beaches; having sent inspectors to measure things out, it decided that the parking 'facilities' are illegal at Los Lances, Valdevaqueros and Atlanterra, while another five are 'blocking access' to the beach, which is not on, according to the inspectors. The only one to have full, official permission is at El Lentiscal, in Bolonia, which was grated in 2008. The remaining beach where parking fees are demanded, Monte Sierra Plata, does not come under the Junta's aegis, being out of the public domain. Local sources tell us that barriers are still up, but there is no-one taking money at any of the places deemed 'illegal'.

Jellyfish alert all over the coast

Getares yesterday

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) A seasonal plague of jellyfish is spoiling the holidays of visitors to the area's beaches. Thousands of the stingers have been sighted -and have landed- on beaches throughout the Campo, particularly at Getares, Rinconcillo and San Roque this weekend. Reports say that the invasion is due to seawater  reaching ideal temperatures for their reproduction and the Levante (Easterly) winds that have been blowing for several days now, which have brought the jellyfish down from the coasts of Granada. Authorities advise bathers to pay attention to the red flag alerts, as they cannot clean up the sand fast enough. (See 'How to treat a jellyfish sting' below)>>>

Young Finback Whale beaches at Alcaidesa

(Photo: europasur.es)

LA LÍNEA/Alcaidesa (Agencies) A finback whale (Balaenoptera physalus) appeared dead on the beach last Wednesday at Alcaidesa, according to reports received by the Town Hall at around 8pm. Volunteers from the Centre for Recovery of Threatened Species (CEGMA In its Spanish acronym) at Málaga, arrived some time later, and also members of Circe, the whale watching people from Tarifa. These experts reported that it was about 4 m in length, indicating it was a youngster, but that it had been dead for some time before being flung onto the sand, as it was in an 'advanced state of decomposition'. Also called a rorqual, this is one of the smallest of the large whales (the family of the Balaenopteridae includes the Blue Whale, the largest of all mammals) but it is the fastest and the most common, of ten reaching between 7 and 10 m in length and between 5 to 10 tons in weight. The remains were removed for incineration on Thursday morning and there was little trace of it overt the weekend.

Tarifa charges for beach parking

'Barrier' to stop caravans
(Photo: europsur.es)

TARIFA The Council has decided that it can charge for parking on or near its beaches, which is why access to the one at Los Lances has seen numerous arguments and traffic queues of late. Charges are up to €5 for caravans and mobile homes, despite the fact that the access roads and the beaches themselves are 'in the public domain', in other words they do not belong to the Council. Charges are also being made at Valdevaqueros and Bolonia, though these are for parking on municipal ground. Charges are being applied from 9 to 9 and do not allow camping or overnight stays. After 9pm, vehicles parked in the areas marked out by barriers, could be fined. Parking and staying overnight have always been a problem in what the Councillor for Beaches, José Antonio Santos, says are the "beaches of the region", but they have always been free of charge. In fact, permission to charge has previously been denied by the Demarcación de Costas (the coastline demarcation authority of the Junta de Andalucía).

Jellyfish warning on coastline

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CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR Various stretches of the Campo's beaches are infested with jellyfish, according to local media. The reason behind their dangerous presence is the changes in wind direction we've been getting. When the easterly Levante winds blow, they seem to congregate near La Línea and Sotogrande, where they were sighted over the weekend. Sources tell us that the situation is better right now, but there are still some around. These jellyfish are smallish and violet-ish. It might be difficult to get treatment for their sting, as, according to some, the Civil Protection units on the beaches in La Línea, "do not have the knowledge to deal with it."

You don't expect a drug drop while relaxing at the beach ...

Getares beach, Sunday
(Photo: europasur.es)

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) You're relaxing, grabbing some rays and all of a sudden, you're in the middle of a drug drop . That's what people at Getares beach went through on Sunday morning. A heavy duty launch roared onto the sand and men were seen running off hauling fardos (literally, bales but associated largely with the drug trade) across the sand. The Guardia Civil turned up by the time the men had disappeared, but the launch (photo) was left behind and is now seized as evidence of the alleged drop. Local beaches are well known as drug drops, but that's usually in the small hours.

Man drowns off Eastern Beach

Eastern beach

GIBRALTAR (chronicle.gi)  A 58-year old man drowned off Eastern beach yesterday. The man is local but resident in the UK, police said. He died despite efforts to revive him, both at the scene of the incident and at St Bernard’s Hospital. Police are investigating the death but the man did not have any injuries and no foul play is suspected. A post mortem will be carried out today to establish the cause of death. The Coroner was informed, as is standard procedure in such cases.

Local beaches get six black flags and three 'black spots'

Los Lances (Tarifa): Idyllic?

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR The approach (the arrival, more likely) of summer brings out the factions that award flags to beaches: blue flags, good, black flags, bad. It's the pressure group Ecologistas en Acción that award the black ones, of course, as well as 'black spots'. They announced their 'awards' on Tuesday, but there were few surprises as they are almost the same as last year's list, which also means that no action was taken by the authorities. The black flags go to the beaches at Atlanterra and Los Lances in Tarifa; the Isla Verde area in Algeciras; the coastline running from Palmones to Guadarranque (Los Barrios and San Roque respectively); and the beach at La Atunara in La Línea. Plus, the whole of the Bay of Algeciras gets a black flag, too. The reasons behind these choices lie as usual in the release of raw sewage into the sea, and the result of bunkering that causes oil slicks. The 'black spots', i.e. dangerous waters, are designated at Paloma Baja and Los Alemanes beaches in Tarifa, and the Algeciras Port front. (See Five blue flags for Campo beaches this year)

Five blue flags for Campo beaches this year

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR The blue flag has been awarded to five beaches in the area by the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education), which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The blue flag is an international distinction awarded to those beaches that meet a stringent list of requirements such as accessibility, water quality, communication with users and respect for the laws, among others. The local beaches that will have their blue flag flying proudly this year are: Sobrevela (La Línea), La Alcaidesa (San Roque and Las Línea), Torreguadiaro and Cala Sardina (San Roque) and Getares (Algeciras). Other blue flag beaches in the province include Zahara de los Atunes (Barbate), Los Bateles and El Roche (Conil), Poniente, La Victoria and La Caleta (Cádiz city) and La Barrosa and Sancti Petri in Chiclana, among more further away from the Campo. Blue flags will also be flying at several beaches on the Costa del Sol, including those at Caleta de Vélez (Vélez-Málaga) and Marbella, Estepona and La Duquesa. Black flags, the opposite to the blue ones and 'awarded' by the environmental pressure group Ecologistas en Acción are expected next week.

What's all this about Valdevaqueros?

TARIFA Valdevaqueros is a beach near Tarifa -within its municipality- that is threatened with over building. Tarifa Council last week approved a project that would put 1,423 hotel rooms and 350 houses on one of the most picturesque and unique stretches of what is left of the Spanish coastline. Needless to say, the project has a divergence of opinion: there are those who see it as a solution to the desperate unemployment situation and those who oppose it on environmental grounds. Both have reasonable arguments. See reports online (YahooFinance, El País in English; and on Facebook. Campopulse first mentioned the subject in October 2009: What's cooking in the POT?)

Private project for sand recovery at Sotogrande

SAN ROQUE / Sotogrande Emergency work is being carried out on the sands near El Cucurucho. The idea is to recover at least some of the 12,000 m2 that have been lost over the last two years as the result of winter and spring storms, as well as to protect the beachside homes there. This is only the beginning of an ambitious project financed by Sotogrande (estimate: over €500,000) that will include the construction of two breakwaters. This beach is used by local people as well as visitors to Sotogrande, and is an important asset to San Roque tourism.

Western Beach closed as health precaution

Western Beach (GibChronicle)

GIBRALTAR (Press release) Following the spell of heavy rain in the early evening of Thursday and because further inclement weather was predicted, the Western Beach Management Protocol was implemented late Thursday evening. Western Beach is therefore now closed to the public, until further notice, as a precaution. Officials said that, as has happened previously following significant rainfall, there is a possibility of deterioration of the bathing water quality as a result of discharges from the Spanish Storm Drain. “It should be stressed that this decision to close Western Beach has been taken as a precaution and that no abnormal levels have thus far been registered," said a spokesperson. Western Beach will remain closed to the public until Government is satisfied that the analysis of the bathing water confirms that there are no abnormal bacterial levels in the bathing waters. With immediate effect the Environmental Agency is carrying out daily sampling of the bathing water at Western Beach.