Sand extraction has led to the erosion of the Bakalsaya Spit and the disappearance of five kilometers of beaches on the south-west coast.
The Deputy Director for Science of the A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Marine Biological Research of RAS Nataliya Milchakova and the Deputy Director of the Moscow Hydrophysical Institute of RAS Anton Georga-Kopulos spoke about that at the press conference “State and development of the ecosystem in the Azov-Black Sea basin”, the Pod Pritselom correspondent reported.
“The sand extraction carried out near the Karkinitsky Goalf is, probably, one of the causes of the destruction of the Bakalsaya Spit,” Milchakova said.
According to the Deputy Director of the Moscow Hydrophysical Institute of RAS, Sevastopol beaches, the area of which is decreasing rapidly, are also in danger.
“Almost five kilometers of the beach between Orlovka and Lyubimovka villages in Sevastopol near the Elm Grove disappeared for one summer, the sea waves are beating directly against the steep clay coast, and there is no beach. Three years ago, there was a beach 10-15 meters wide. Here we are faced with the fact that the sand extraction were carried out not only near the beach, but also in the 3-4-mile area. While losing the sand at the bottom, the Black Sea takes this resource from the beach,” Georga-Kopulos said.
The scientists believe that Crimea should make a decision regarding its priorities: recreational potential or industrial development.
“They need to make a choice: whether Crimea is the recreation and tourism or Crimea is the disappearing beaches and shores, without which tourists won’t come there. Crimean authorities should calculated the economic benefits and decide whether it is necessary to protect peninsula’s coast or allow its destruction,” Milchakova said.
As a reminder, the sand line decreased from 100 to 7.5 m on the coast from Evpatoria to Novofedorovka.
