Four large-format yachts are in court this Friday: they are called “Take Off”, “My Falcon” or “Belongers” and measure between 22 and 51 meters long. These boats are summoned before the maritime affairs court of Marseille for having damaged large areas of Posidonia herbarium, anchoring off the coast of Beaulieu-sur-Mer or Saint-Tropez. Convictions for uprooting posidonia, a species now protected, had already made an impression, with fines of up to 25,000 euros, but this time, the approach is different: it involves quantifying the “ecological damage ” suffered.
A civil complaint to repair ecological damage
These underwater plants play a key role in preserving biodiversity in the Mediterranean. They are therefore already protected by law with prohibited anchorage zones: since 2016 in the Alpes-Maritimes for boats over 20m, since 2019 for boats over 24m and since 2020 by various local decrees. But this time, with this civil complaint, the maritime prefecture and the France Nature Environnement association are asking compensation, in euros, for the ecological damage caused by this destruction of nature : a loss which would amount to between 200 and 250,000 euros, or even 300,000 euros depending on the case. “There was no method to calculate this ecological damage on this type of offense, so we racked our brains to propose two methods to the court, based on scientific data.“, explains Me Isabelle Vergnoux, who pleads for France Nature Environment in this file.
The value of the “ecosystem service provided”
Because the role of Posidonia is essential for the good health of the Mediterranean…and maintaining good health always has a price. These algae, which have long been poorly regarded, are vital: they firstly offer a refuge for the spawning of underwater fauna, up to 40 m deep, they also help to slow down the violence of the waves, and to attenuate coastal erosion. , forming, once stranded, natural protective benches. This work of Mother Nature also has an economic value, which makes it possible to quantify the consequences of wild uprooting.s: the cost of restoring a herbarium (very technical transplant operation, very expensive and with uncertain results) or the value for service rendered to the conservation of the ecosystem. “This loss of ecosystem value has been quantified by several scientists, by evaluating the surface area destroyed, in areas of the Mediterranean closest to ours.“continues the lawyer. According to these methods, the ecosystem value of a hectare of seagrass would amount to, for example, more than 86,000 euros per year.”Afterwards it varies depending on the files, the anchoring time, the weather (the anchor scrapes the ground and the grass more in rough seas than in calm weather), the size of the ship” explains Isabelle Vergnoux.
France Nature Environment
