Marine Reserve Badia de Palma

The Palma Bay Marine Reserve was created in 1982 to preserve the biodiversity of this stretch of coastline and its sea up to a depth of 30 metres. The reason: it has been under considerable pressure from people for centuries. 

In fact, this protected area, which covers a total of 2394 hectares, is home to a priceless Mediterranean natural treasure: its seabed is covered by meadows of posidonia, which provide shelter for numerous species that live on the ocean floor like molluscs, crustaceans and starfish. 

There are also certain points in the Palma Bay Marine Reserve with high concentrations of biodiversity, especially of invertebrates and newly hatched fish. It can therefore be seen to serve as an incubator for numerous Mediterranean species. In fact, artificial reefs were built off Cape Enderrocat in 1990 to prevent illegal trawl fishing and to provide shelter for these species.

The species living on this sandy seabed are highly biodiverse, but also vulnerable, and they therefore need special protection. 340 species have been catalogued so far, mainly algae, fish or invertebrates such as the date mussel and the nacre. This latter has practically disappeared in the West due to a parasitic disease that wiped out 99% of these creatures in the western Mediterranean in 2016.