Jellyfish of the Mar Menor from Angel Fitor is the winning photo in the 2021 European wildlife Photographer competition.
It is titled the “Medusa ballet “.
Some of you will recognize this title as that of a ballet performance of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui .
But here Medusa Ballet is a winning photo and a tribute to the nature in the Mar menor.
Unfortunately , this photo wins after the photographer tried years to take this photo on the Mar Menor.
For those who are familiar with the situation around the Mar Menor, it is finally a strong signal that the Mar Menor is on the wrong track.
Years of patience
The photo shows a swarm of jellyfish. But there were only two of them floating just below the surface of the water.
They moved by the contraction and the flow.
The rest of the jellyfish swarm is the result of eleven flashes.
Angel Fitor spent years trying to get this photo .
But nature cannot be commanded and predicted.
Fortunately, he continued to exercise patience.
With this as a wonderful result.
Currently there is clearly a problem around the Mar Menor.
Can we also say here the the situation is an “example of progressive insight “?
That people only realize later or too late that many wrong choices have been made in the past around the Mar Menor.
the Mar Menor
It is a beautiful inland sea. With an exceptional biotope.
We have witten about it many times in the past.
Mar menor is a ideal holiday destination for water lovers
But this biotope has been completely destroyed by, among other things, the nearby agriculture.
Now and in the past, too many nutrients were used by the nearby agriculture.
Due to the heavy rainfalls these end up in the Mar Menor.
The fragile ecosystem has collapsed.
This gave rise to a huge boom of phytoplankton that used all the oxygen in the almost closed laguna of the Mar Menor.
Were until ten years ago even seahorses lived in the lagoon, now even the sea grass and the seaweeds are dying off.
As a result there was a massive fish kill during this period.
Jellyfish in the Mar Menor
Unfortunately the photo has become a tribute to the unique heritage the lagoon was before the heavy storms of the recent years.
Moreover, the price winning photo shows the fragility of our maritime ecosystem.
Hopefully we’re not too late to react.
