Around the world, marina staff regularly host and join beach and waterway cleanups in their region. In Spain, Marina Ibiza’s management team has taken it a step further. Through a partnership with a high-profile ocean conservation and restoration non-profit, it’s replanting 1,500 native plants.
The marina calls the initiative the Marina Ibiza Posidonia Meadow. Posidonia—also known as Posidonia oceanica—is a seagrass species endemic to the Mediterranean. With long, ribbon-like leaves, the plant has earned the nickname “the lungs of the Mediterranean.” Vast underwater meadows covered the sea floor in Spain and other countries for centuries. However, in recent decades, unregulated anchoring has killed the grasses and created bare patches. The plant grows quite slowly, less than four-tenths of an inch (one centimeter) per year. In Spain, the problem became especially severe between Ibiza and Formentera. The Marina Ibiza Posidonia Meadow supports the efforts of the Vellmari Foundation toward seagrass recovery. Manu San Félix, a marine biologist, passionate ocean conservationist, and National Geographic underwater cinematographer, established the foundation in 1993. It focuses on restoring the seabed of Talamanca Bay, which happens to be at Marina Ibiza’s doorstep.
In fact, the bay has seen the destruction of nearly half of its Posidonia meadows. Given the bay’s proximity to the historic quarter of Ibiza Town, the replanting effort has a higher profile. Simultaneously, it’s gaining more attention due to the involvement of the marina, which accommodates megayachts to 312 feet (95 meters). Marina Ibiza is less than a mile (two kilometers) from the UNESCO-listed medieval old town.
The planting of 1,500 Posidonia is just the initial step in the restoration of the seagrasses. The marina is inviting its customers, visitors, and area residents to contribute to the Marina Ibiza Posidonia Meadow, too. Individuals can adopt a plant to extend the meadow farther. That in turn should help Talamanca Bay not just recover, but remain resilient.
The initiative is the latest effort by the marina to be a better environmental steward. For the past 14 years, for instance, it has held Blue Flag status. Being a Blue Flag marina means adherence to nearly two dozen guidelines for cleanliness, environmental management, safety, and availability of environmental information to guests.
Marina Ibiza marinaibiza.com
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