Cancun, Q.R. — The City of Cancun has begun a project to locate and remove abandoned boats from the Nichupté Lagoon. Dozens of sunken vessels have been noted in the lagoon, some for years.
On Wednesday, city officials took to the lagoon in a first step search for abaondoned boats. Pablo Gutiérrez Fernández, the General Secretary of the Benito Juárez City Council, accompanied by the Director General of Ecology, Fernando Haro, reported that this first stage includes the removal of boats found along the shores of the lagoon.
He said boats found in the lagoon that can be moved by simple towing will be the first selected. They will be relocated to land where potential owners will be given a chance to claim them.
“Today we are taking a historic step for Cancun. We are launching an action that will bring order to the Nichupté Lagoon and begin removing the abandoned boats that are in the lagoon,” Gutiérrez Fernández said.
He explained that the boats will be removed and stored on land, outside the lagoon. In cases where someone can legally prove ownership of a boat, they may continue with the corresponding legal proceedings directly with the Port Authority.
Gutiérrez Fernández said that this is the beginning of a reorganization process that will continue in subsequent phases. With the support of specialized platforms, plans are also underway to remove vessels located in deeper areas of the Nichupté Lagoon.
Fernando Haro, also part of the project, explained that the removal of these vessels will contribute to improving the conditions of the environment and protecting the flora and fauna of this important ecosystem.
With this regulation, the Government of Benito Juárez addresses a historically raised demand and advances in the recovery of the image, environmental balance and natural value of the Nichupté Lagoon.
The removal project is in response to years of requests for the regulation of abandoned vessels in the Nichupté Lagoon to bring order to the lagoon system.
The Federal Government, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the Port Captaincy of the Secretariat of the Navy, the Nautical Associates of Quintana Roo and the Benito Juárez City Council are part of the project.
