Bay of Gibraltar

The Bay of Algeciras, and the Bay of Gibraltar, English called Bay of Gibraltar lies far to the south of Spain on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. With the city of Algeciras to the west in the bay, the large oil refinery Refineria de Gibraltar in San Roque in the north, La Línea to the northeast, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar in the southeastern bay of the western beginning of the Mediterranean coast is densely populated.

On belonging to Great Britain Rock of Gibraltar are located next to the San Felipe - pier, the marina and the port of Gibraltar to the south the Rosia Bay, the Camp Bay, the "little bay ", the Bleak beach and at the southern tip of the Europa Point. The bay is south into the Strait of Gibraltar.

In the bay are usually many oil tankers at anchor, as Gibraltar is one of the main ports for refueling ships. We can also see animals like whales and dolphins (for example, the bottlenose dolphin ), which is why many sightseeing tours are offered by boat at Algeciras and Gibraltar.

Just as the Rock of Gibraltar rises sharply from the Mediterranean up, so steep falls under water on the eastern edge of the bay in the area of ​​port facilities the coast to 400 m depth down. However, offer some coral reefs as well as artificial reefs like the Artificial Reef in Gibraltar near Rosia Bay and Camp Bay marine fauna livelihoods. The south-west of Europe top location Europe Reef is one of a series of marine terraces and is only since the last ice age under water. From the flat coastal area, it extends to a depth of about 300 m. Because of the strong currents in the Strait of Gibraltar and the exposed position at the entrance of the bay with a exceptional biodiversity, it was often the subject of marine research. The Seven Sisters Reef in the Marine Protected Area " Rosia Marine Conservation Zone" further north in the Bay of Gibraltar is this a hot spot for invertebrates.

Marine fauna and flora

Although considerably damaged by the port facilities and vessel traffic, so remnants of seagrass beds ( Zostera marina and Cymodocea nodosa ) have been preserved in the north of the bay. Stony corals ( Astroides calycularis ) and the long -spined sea urchin Centro diadem longispinus occur, according to the Department of the Environment of Gibraltar.

Even on the artificial reefs protected mussel species as Lithophaga lithophaga and Patella ferruginea were able to settle in Europe.

The rich fishing grounds in the Bay of Algeciras / Gibraltar are disputed between Spain and Gibraltar: In 2013 there was another incident in the Fisheries Jurisdiction of Gibraltar.

The Environment Agency of Gibraltar published alongside langfrisitig valid " Beach Profiles" with site plans, environmental monitoring and environmental management for the bays and beaches and short-term measurements of the quality of bathing water. For complete protection of the natural environment in the bay, towards reducing noise strategies were developed for the jurisdiction in Gibraltar.