The City Council offers a service for the coordination of claims to the PRUG
The Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat de Catalunya announced this week the initial approval of the Master Plan for Use and Management (PRUG) of the Cap de Creus Natural Park, which establishes the regulation of professional uses, sporting, recreational, educational and scientific, focusing mainly on the marine area. Roses City Council, from its Environment area, offers to involved sectors and citizens to coordinate the presentation of possible allegations to the Plan.
The publication of the initial approval of the PRUG in the DOGC is scheduled for the next few days, from which time a period of public information will be opened where the allegations that are deemed appropriate can be presented. Once these have been resolved, the Generalitat expects to approve the Plan definitively in mid-2025.
From Roses City Council, the Department of Environment is available to the different sectors involved and citizens in general in the municipality, for the coordination of possible allegations that may be submitted. The councilor of the department, Lluís Espada, points out that "the purpose of this offer is to provide the necessary advice and coordinate in the most effective way the presentation of allegations, with the aim that, jointly, the drafting of the plan can be improved at those points where citizens and agents from the different sectors involved have something to say ." Espada adds that "we agree with the regulation of the uses of the Natural Park, but the interests of the businesses and economic sector of Roses must also be defended, bearing in mind that we are an eminently touristic municipality".
All those interested can go in person at the offices of the Department of the Environment, located at number 13 of Carrer Pi i Sunyer, or submit their written documents via the e-mail mediambient@roses.cat.
The councilor also expressed during the session of the Governing Board of the PN of Cap de Creus held last Wednesday in Roses, the need to provide the park with more financial resources: "currently the natural park is financially underfunded and we must take into account that, to enforce the regulations that will be established by the PRUG, it will be necessary to implement more effective monitoring and control services. In addition, due to this insufficient funding, the municipalities are currently taking over services that are the responsibility of the park."
MAIN LINES OF PRUG ACTION
The Master Use and Management Plan (PRUG) of the Cap de Creus Natural Park, which is valid for four years, establishes the regulation of professional, sports, recreational, educational and scientific uses of the marine area of the Park, in special to the three partial nature reserves in the Park. All these marine spaces represent more than 3,000 hectares of high biodiversity where we find meadows of phanerogams, coral enclaves and the fauna associated with these environments.
Among others, the PRUG regulates aspects such as the maximum navigation speed of any motor boat in the waters of the Park, organized excursions with kayaks or the regulation of diving activities. In these cases, only authorized companies can offer this type of activity.
The organization of parties on boats is also not allowed; and jet skis are not allowed inside the marine space of the park, except for maritime rescue, people with reduced mobility, guided tours provided by authorized companies (and with a maximum of 4 people and always with an accredited guide) and for the residents of Roses, Cadaqués, Port de la Selva or Llançà and in groups of four at most.
In general, the draft PRUG allows free anchoring for small vessels, except in demarcated areas such as inside buoy fields and no-anchorage areas. In the partial nature reserves, mooring to a buoy or anchoring during the night is not allowed and mooring to the rocks of the coast using metal elements is also prohibited in the section between Cala Prona and Punta de Farallons.
In the field of recreational fishing, among other measures, the draft PRUG proposes the creation of a special permit for fishermen and the obligation to report the catches made. Fishing will be allowed in a large part of the areas where fishing is now possible, although partial nature reserves will not be allowed.
In the field of professional fishing, the PRUG adopts the Cap de Creus fishing management plan, developed by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing and Food, through the General Directorate of Maritime Policy and Sustainable Fishing, which establishes, among other measures, a census of boats that can operate in this area and other measures, limitations and management actions for professional fishing in the marine area of the Cap de Creus Natural Park and the inland waters that surround it.
Finally, thanks to the agreements made within the framework of the Fisheries Co-management Committee in Cap de Creus, it will go from about 19 hectares of integral protection existing to this day, to more than 300 without the extraction of resources from the environment, for which which in practice will multiply by more than ten the area without fishing in the Natural Park.
action plan
The PRUG is linked to an action program that foresees an investment of around six million euros for the coming years. This money will be allocated, in part, to the provision of specific personnel to manage and carry out research and monitoring of marine biodiversity, as well as all the activities that take place in this area.
The number of vessels will also be increased to carry out surveillance, information and maintenance tasks in the Park. Now only one boat is available and two new boats will be available. Likewise, surveillance by the different competent bodies will be substantially strengthened.
The system of buoys will be improved, with the placement of perimeter buoys in the Park, agreements will be signed with the municipalities to improve their management and synergies will be established with the territory to promote more sustainable tourism and promote environmental education .
