---
Community leader Jorge Echevarría Morales of Lajas has urged the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and federal bodies to prohibit houseboat owners in La Parguera from illuminating Christmas lights to safeguard the bay’s bioluminescence.
“For many years, we have appealed to both local residents and tourists in La Parguera to assist in preserving our unique resource, including the red mangrove and the unicellular dinoflagellate responsible for the bioluminescence found in La Parguera,” stated the community leader. “The annual lighting serves no ecological purpose and undermines the protection of the ecosystem, which necessitates specific physical, chemical, biological, and ecological conditions for bioluminescence to take place, similar to Mosquito Bay in Vieques, Moncio José in Lajas, and Laguna Grande in Fajardo.”
Echevarría Morales remarked that each year, “irresponsible individuals not only back the illegal lighting of boats at many homes in violation of laws but also engage in parades or processions of illuminated boats, exacerbating light pollution and harming the unique bioluminescence ability in the tourism sector.”
Experts in marine life affirm that the extensive deployment of boats contaminates aquatic resources and contributes to the decline of organisms that generate the bioluminescence effect.
“The display of power or defiance against authorities by those organizing lighted boat parades, disregarding the efforts to safeguard natural resources, serves only as a mockery of the genuine concern that the residents of La Parguera have for ecological balance,” stated Echevarría Morales. “Specifically, a team of marine biologists from various nations who recently toured La Parguera were taken aback by the ‘zero protection’ of marine life in the area. Their journey through the locales affected by tourism and boating led them to conclude that there are minimal or no protective measures in place to ensure the bioluminescence resource does not vanish in the next five to ten years.”
According to the community leader, the reckless use of boats, along with fuel, oil, and sewage discharges into the sea near La Parguera, are visibly apparent. He pointed out evidence of sedimentation from the access routes developed due to increasing visitor numbers, many of whom leave behind waste and other pollutants, which has become increasingly obvious.
“It is scientifically established that the enhancement of surrounding lighting is a harmful factor for the natural ecosystem of La Parguera,” Echevarría Morales affirmed.
He mentioned that the Committee for the Defense of the Bioluminescence of La Parguera Bay is ready to meet with environmental regulatory authorities to collaborate and permanently halt the ecological degradation caused by a sector focused solely on economic gain, providing nothing towards the conservation of La Parguera’s natural resources.
DNER Secretary Robert Méndez Martínez indicated that the agency enforces current regulations by permitting the Christmas lights at La Parguera. He also noted that the lights are displayed for a limited duration.
