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Cancun Nautical Association wants to clean Nichupté Lagoon of sunken boats

Cancun, Q.R. — President of the Nautical Association says the Nichupté Lagoon has become a cemetery for sunken and abandoned boats that have been left by owners. Nautical head Francisco Fernández Millán says some of the boats at the bottom of the lagoon are as long as 40 feet, adding that the association has expressed their interest in cleaning the bed of the lagoon.

In an interview with Radio Fórmula, he explained that the association has expressed interest in cleaning the lagoon of that contamination since local authorities have not addressed the problem, however, he points out that the association has not been given authorization to do so.

“They send us from one place to another. For example, the municipality it says that it is something state, then the state says it is the responsibility of federal agencies and dependencies such as Semarnat and Profepa and they pass the ball around,” he said.

“We could bring in machinery to float the sunken boats and leave them safely in a corral waiting for the owners to claim them and thus, recover the investment costs, but legally, we cannot do it and that is why the support of the authority is needed, but nobody wants to take responsibility,” he explained.

Fernández Millán says that many of these boats have been abandoned for years due to various situations and can be found everywhere, but mainly in the areas near the mangroves and between the canals.

“There are many in the main part toward the bridge that leaves the bay toward Isla Mujeres,” he commented.

“It is convenient to leave them in a corralón and, in the case of those that are not claimed, there is a law that indicates that after a certain time of finding a boat adrift, it passes as property to the one who found it. In this case, they could be used to patrol the marine park or given to other agencies that need them,” he suggested.