The coastal town councils meet this Thursday in Marbella to analyze the seaweed problem.

Tomorrow, Marbella will host a meeting with other municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol Municipal Association to jointly analyze the difficult situation ... that the coast is facing regarding the massive arrival of invasive seaweed. "We are very affected by this issue. Tons and tons of seaweed are removed every night, only to reappear by dawn, giving no respite to the Beach Department," said the mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, who noted that for the local administration, it is a "tremendous effort" to keep the coast clean of this plant debris as well as an economic investment.

In this way, the municipalities seek to share their experiences as well as demand a technical and budgetary response from the national government. "We do not have support from any other administration. It is only at the municipal level and I believe that the first thing that should be demanded, in this case from the central government, is that it provides the technical criteria and research solvency that allows for a medium to long-term result to an epidemic that is invading us more each year," Muñoz clarified.

Also, the mayor emphasized the difficulties in cleaning up these remains. "We do not always have sand in the surroundings. There are beaches that are very rocky, and therefore, we cannot use machines for removal so it has to be done by hand under very precarious circumstances," she related while confessing that, even, "many times staff from other departments have been incorporated to address this very serious problem."

Quality Flags

Despite the difficulties, the mayor highlighted the quality level of Marbella's beaches thanks to the "effort" made by the Municipality. This morning, the mayor attended the raising of the various flags that endorse this status.

Thus, Marbella now proudly displays its 12 Blue Flags in addition to the 36 'Q' for Quality and 'S' for Sustainability awards. "From the City Council, we will continue to work decisively to preserve and even enhance this level of excellence, aware that our beaches are one of the main tourist assets," the mayor concluded.