to respect the protection and conservation measures defined in the proposal for
inclusion.
The main SPAMIs located in the Alboran Sea are presented from West to East
direction and from North to South order. In some cases, these SPAMIs also overlap
with other figures of protection, which has also been indicated and explained.
25.4.1 Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliffs SPAMI and Collateral
Figures of Protection (Spain)
The Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliffs (Acantilados de Maro-Cerro Gordo) are located on the
northern part of the Alboran Sea, between Nerja (Málaga) and Almuñécar (Granada). It includes a narrow strip of 12 km along the coast, from Maro beach to Cerro
Gordo Cliff, which contains a series of small beaches, coves and cliffs (Fig. 25.3).
The total extension of this maritime—terrestrial site—is 19.13 km
2 , of which
3.84 km
2 are terrestrial and 15.29 km
2 are marine (one nautical mile from the
coastline) with a depth range from the coast of ca. 70 m in front of Cerro Gordo
Cliff. In these cliffs, the outcrop of various units of the Alpujárride Complex occurs
where the age of the rocks and their degree of metamorphism increase generally
towards the east, consisting of Middle-Upper Triassic carbonates or marbles,
together with mica schists and quartzites of low metamorphic grade and LowerMiddle Triassic age, graphite schist of middle to high metamorphic grade and locally
migmatitic gneiss both of Palaeozoic age.
This MPA was firstly declared as Natural Area (Paraje Natural) by the Andalusian
government (Junta de Andalucía) in July 1988, and it represents one of the few
MPAs within the RENPA that is also a SPAMI. In October 2002, this MPA was
classified as Special Protection Area (SPA, ES6170002) according to the Birds
Directive (BD), but due to its relevance in the Mediterranean basin, it was also
declared as SPAMI in 2003. Later on, the SPAMI was also confirmed as a Site of
Community Importance (SCI) (Acantilados de Maro-Cerro Gordo, ES6170002) in
July 2006 and designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in January 2015,
in compliance with the Habitats Directive (HD).
The confluence of Atlantic and the Mediterranean waters, the occurrence of
upwellings and the presence of soft (with variable grain sizes) and rocky bottoms,
cliffs and underwater seawalls and submerged caves makes this a privileged location
where several types of marine habitats and a high biodiversity have been described
(Rueda and Marina 2009). Around 16 types of natural habitats included in Annex I
of the HD are present, four of which are strictly marine: sandbanks which are
slightly covered by seawater all the time (Habitat 1110), reefs (1170), submerged
or partially submerged sea caves (8330) and the priority habitat Posidonia
beds (1120) (Mateo-Ramírez et al. 2020b). The most representative structure for
the habitat 8830 is the Cerro Gordo cave, which has ca. 100 m length and that
832
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.
inclusion.
The main SPAMIs located in the Alboran Sea are presented from West to East
direction and from North to South order. In some cases, these SPAMIs also overlap
with other figures of protection, which has also been indicated and explained.
25.4.1 Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliffs SPAMI and Collateral
Figures of Protection (Spain)
The Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliffs (Acantilados de Maro-Cerro Gordo) are located on the
northern part of the Alboran Sea, between Nerja (Málaga) and Almuñécar (Granada). It includes a narrow strip of 12 km along the coast, from Maro beach to Cerro
Gordo Cliff, which contains a series of small beaches, coves and cliffs (Fig. 25.3).
The total extension of this maritime—terrestrial site—is 19.13 km
2 , of which
3.84 km
2 are terrestrial and 15.29 km
2 are marine (one nautical mile from the
coastline) with a depth range from the coast of ca. 70 m in front of Cerro Gordo
Cliff. In these cliffs, the outcrop of various units of the Alpujárride Complex occurs
where the age of the rocks and their degree of metamorphism increase generally
towards the east, consisting of Middle-Upper Triassic carbonates or marbles,
together with mica schists and quartzites of low metamorphic grade and LowerMiddle Triassic age, graphite schist of middle to high metamorphic grade and locally
migmatitic gneiss both of Palaeozoic age.
This MPA was firstly declared as Natural Area (Paraje Natural) by the Andalusian
government (Junta de Andalucía) in July 1988, and it represents one of the few
MPAs within the RENPA that is also a SPAMI. In October 2002, this MPA was
classified as Special Protection Area (SPA, ES6170002) according to the Birds
Directive (BD), but due to its relevance in the Mediterranean basin, it was also
declared as SPAMI in 2003. Later on, the SPAMI was also confirmed as a Site of
Community Importance (SCI) (Acantilados de Maro-Cerro Gordo, ES6170002) in
July 2006 and designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in January 2015,
in compliance with the Habitats Directive (HD).
The confluence of Atlantic and the Mediterranean waters, the occurrence of
upwellings and the presence of soft (with variable grain sizes) and rocky bottoms,
cliffs and underwater seawalls and submerged caves makes this a privileged location
where several types of marine habitats and a high biodiversity have been described
(Rueda and Marina 2009). Around 16 types of natural habitats included in Annex I
of the HD are present, four of which are strictly marine: sandbanks which are
slightly covered by seawater all the time (Habitat 1110), reefs (1170), submerged
or partially submerged sea caves (8330) and the priority habitat Posidonia
beds (1120) (Mateo-Ramírez et al. 2020b). The most representative structure for
the habitat 8830 is the Cerro Gordo cave, which has ca. 100 m length and that
832
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.