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Proposed expansion of Cabrera National Park
On Friday 11th June the environmental group Oceana will meet with the board of directors for the Cabrera National Park to propose an extension of the park's boundaries. Located 10 kilometres south of Mallorca, the protected area is currently made up of 19 small islands with an area of 1,318 hectares on land and 8,703 hectares under water.
Oceana is the largest international organization dedicated to protecting the world's oceans. They provide scientific evidence to support their claims and policies and count celebrities such as Morgan Freeman, Sting and Pierce Brosnan among their supporters. In the last 10 years the group has protected over 1.2 million square miles of ocean and countless sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and other sea creatures.
During a 2006 expedition, Oceana identified a dozen ecosystems and nearly 300 species within the Cabrera National Park. The proposal to increase the marine protected area is designed to conserve the ecosystem surrounding the park, including corraline algae, maerl beds and kelp seaweed ‘forests' discovered during recent studies.
Xavier Pastor, executive director of Oceana Europe, fully expects the support of the board at Friday's meeting. The initiative had already received the approval of the outgoing socialist president, Antich, at meetings held in 2009, and in February of this year. It is also in line with recent European directives concerning the preservation of marine species and habitats across Europe.
For further information visit Cabrera National Park
