Opok calls for stricter enforcement after breaches at protected Lara Bay

Lara Bay, Cyprus. The environmentalists’ union Opok expressed concern on Thursday after bathers set up umbrellas and tents on protected Lara Bay in Akamas, following the publication of images of the breach.

The group called for strict enforcement of regulations and questioned whether checks by state services were sufficiently thorough.

Seasonal restrictions

Bathers breached rules that prohibit such activities from the beginning of June until the end of September, when the area is protected for nesting and hatching sea turtles.

Within the Lara-Toxeftra protected area, umbrellas, sunbeds, tents and caravans are banned during this period. Visitors are also prohibited from remaining on the beach at night from one hour before sunset and from fishing except from the shore.

Questions over inspections

“The images that are being made public are not consistent with an area that is under strict protection,” Opok said in a written statement.

The organisation said the breach raised “reasonable and serious questions” over how it occurred despite earlier patrols and how frequently inspections are carried out.

Protected breeding site

Opok described Lara as one of the most important breeding sites in Cyprus and the Mediterranean for green and loggerhead turtles.

The area has been protected since 1989 under the fisheries law, is part of the Natura 2000 network and has been listed since 2013 as a specially protected area of Mediterranean importance.

“Its protection is not an optional political choice, nor can it depend on the sensitivity of visitors or be limited to the existence of information signs,” the statement said.