"In a year, the area will be fully regenerated." That is what the Pastinaca diving club says, which considers that the control of the Diadema Antillarum Sea Urchins population, in which they are working together with other clubs, has been a success. So far, more than 94,300 urchins of this predatory species have been eradicated after a total of 10 dives carried out by the entity. The last of these dives took place last Sunday, April 13, in the area of the Arrecife commercial dock.
More than 59 volunteer divers have dedicated a total of 198 hours of immersion in said club to obtain a result that has surprised the organizers of the initiative, since "areas of great whiteness have become green areas with algae that reach 20 centimeters in height", they say.
More awareness
Diving professionals are asking the fishing area of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the Government of the Canary Islands to put in place the necessary mechanisms so that the area continues to be filled with vegetation and animals, since they consider that the process "has to continue naturally and not through divers." Among the measures they demand to conserve the marine environment, they consider it necessary to "prohibit the fishing of certain species as well as begin to control the illegal fishing that is carried out so habitually before our very eyes", they say. Likewise, they emphasize the importance of raising awareness among the general public.
Cleaning method
The way of working in the Diadema Antillarum urchin cleaning site has been requested by biologists to be able to carry out studies of the area. For this reason, two areas of 2,500 square meters each have been marked. In one of them no work is carried out while in the other this urchin is exterminated, although according to reports from Pastinaca, thanks to the volume of divers they have, they have managed to clean "an area of more than 7,000 square meters with invaluable results for the ecosystem of our coasts".
An old problem
Since 1994, the Pastinaca club made several public complaints about the increase of this species of urchin due to the massive capture of marine species, especially animals that helped control the advance of these urchins. In November 1995, the club requested the University of La Laguna to carry out a study on how to eradicate this animal from the coasts of Lanzarote.
In May 2006, the club sent a project to the Cabildo de Lanzarote, specifically to the Department of Fisheries, on the eradication of this animal, with several suggestions. Among them, the entry into this project of all the clubs on the Island where each one would act in a different area, in addition to including the prohibition of fishing those species that feed on this urchin, among other measures.
On the other hand, Pastinaca emphasizes that they receive nothing in return from the institutions and that they bear the expense of the charges and autonomous diving equipment necessary for this work. They assure that in the last three years this club has not requested any subsidy and that the greatest reward is the "satisfaction of having carried out hard work with results that fill us with pride as members." In addition, they have added that the club has carried out cleanings of the Lanzarote coastline with a balance of more than 100 tons of garbage from our coasts.
