We are used to rankings that tell us where to go in the summer. Which beaches to visit the most secret and hidden cove or where the cleanest sands and the most crystalline water are.
But just like the Oscars they have their Razzies (the awards for the worst movies of the year), every year, Ecologists in Action presents its report on “black flags” with the worst rated beaches in Catalonia.
This report takes into account pollution problems and environmental mismanagement to determine, this year, that six beaches in Catalonia receive a black flag that makes them not recommended for bathing.
The published list reflects many points of the Catalan coastline, from Tarragona to the Costa Brava, including a beach within the city of Barcelona
La Pineda beach (Vila-seca, Tarragona):
Tarragona beach receives black flag for poor management of plastic pellets from nearby petrochemical industries
Three Chimneys Beach (Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona):
Marked by an urbanization project that environmentalists reject due to flooding and the proposal for a coastal park, this is not the first time that this beach has found itself in the eye of controversy, to the extent that has had to be closed on a few occasions for contamination.
Maresme Beaches
Barcelona’s neighboring beaches receive a black flag for artificialization and the presence of 18 breakwaters that affect the natural processes of the coastline. These beaches are also suffering the consequences of rising sea levels and storms, which are causing many of them to disappear.
Savinosa historical area (Tarragona)
This beach, which already appeared on last year’s list, highlighted by inadequate management of the space, with plans to pave a road that should be renaturalized.
Several beaches of the Costa Brava (Girona):
Affected by increased pollution and overuse. Ecologists in Action denounces the high concentration of private boats in the coves, which damages marine biodiversity.
La Farella Beach (Girona)
In this beach Ecologists in Action denounces the approval of a PMU that would allow to raise 62 houses in the last pine forest “to touch the sea” that there is in the municipality and that has “an incalculable landscape and environmental value”.