This year, the Algarve has 76 beaches with “Gold Quality” (11 less than last year), an award given by Quercus. The sharp break is due to the Red tide which, in July of last year, forced the closure of beaches from Ilha Deserta (Faro) to Falesia (Albufeira).
This tide, of reddish tones, was motivated by microalgae that can be dangerous to humans when ingested.
Analyzing the data by regions, released this Thursday, 28th of May, by Quercus, the Algarve has, then, 11 fewer beaches with this award. The municipality of Loulé, which last year had 10 “Qualidade de Ouro” beaches, lost them all.
Ao Sul Informação, a Quercus source explained that, on the basis of this decision, were the award award criteria that determine that, «in the last bathing season (2019), there cannot have been any type of occurrence/notice against bathing practice, prohibition of bathing practice and/or temporary banning of the beach'.
This happened on the beaches that lost the “Gold Quality Grade”: Faro-Mar, Almargem, Ancão, Forte Novo, Garrão-Nascente, Garrão-West, Loulé Velho, Quarteira, Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and Vilamoura (Loulé).
«This new criterion, introduced since 2019, aimed to detect episodes of discontinuity in bathing water quality, episodes that are registered by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) on its website", explained the same source from Quercus.
«Given that the occurrences registered with respect to this criterion are considered in Quercus' analysis on an annual basis (as opposed to what happens with the “Excellent” classification criterion), this aspect led to the non-attribution of the Award at 10 Loulé beaches this year, as last year they were banned from bathing. However, this will have no impact on the assessment for 2021», said the environmental association, in the reply sent to our newspaper.
Of all the awarded beaches in the Algarve, Albufeira leads with 18, followed by Vila do Bispo (11). This is followed by Aljezur (8) and Lagoa (8), Portimão (7), Silves, Olhão and Tavira (4), Lagos, Faro, Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António (3).
Across the country, Quercus distinguished 381 beaches with the “Golden Grade”.
The Tagus and West Region was once again the one that accounted for the most (102), followed by the Algarve (76) and the North (66). Compared to 2019, in the Tagus and West Region there was an increase of 12 attributions of this award.
The Algarve and North regions had a decrease of 11 and 8 “Gold Quality” flags, respectively.
The Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores saw an increase of 3 and 4 awarded beaches, respectively. In the Center and Alentejo regions there was also an increase of 5 and 1 awards, respectively.
Of the awarded beaches, 321 are coastal beaches, 54 are inland beaches and 6 are transitional. Compared to 2019, despite an overall increase of 6 awards, there was a decrease in the number of coastal and transitional beaches.
In this particular aspect, the reduction in attributions of the “Gold Quality” award to coastal beaches stands out for the second consecutive year, in a total of less than 20 awards. On the other hand, there is a strong increase in attributions on the inland beaches, with 14 more distinctions.
All national municipalities with awarded beaches may request the final artwork for the flag “Beach with Quality Gold 2020” through the general contacts of Quercus.
Golden Beaches in Coastal Waters in the Algarve
ALBUFEIRA (19):
GERMAN
ARRIFS
TEE MATCHES
CASTLE
RABBIT
EVARISTO
EAST WALLET
WEST WALLET
INATEL
MANUEL LOURENÇO
MARIA LUISA
GOLD
EAST OLD
PENCO
FISHERMEN
S. RAFAEL
SNACKS
SAINT EULALIA
ALJEZUR (8)
LOVED
MMOREIRA-MAR
ARRIFANA
BORDER
CLERGY MOUNT
DECICE-SEA
MEN'S VALLEY
FIGUEIRAS VALLEY
CASTRO MARIM (3)
ALAGOA-HEIGHT
HEAD
GREEN BEACH
FARO (3)
breech-sea
BARRET
ISLAND OF FAROL-MAR
POND (8)
BENAGIL
CANERS
CARVALHO
ROUND DIT
RUSTY
NAVY
LADY OF THE ROCK
OLIVE VALLEY
LAKES (3)
LIGHT
HALF BEACH
PORT OF MÓS
EYE (4)
ARMONA-MAR
ARMONARIA
FUSETTA-MAR
FUETA-RIA
Portimão (7)
DAWN
SUNSET
THREE CASTLES
CARIANS
PRAINHA
ROCHA
VAU
SILVES (4)
PEAR FRAME
BOATS / REARING PEAR FRAME
BEACH BEACH
BEACH BEACH
TAVIRA (4)
CABANAS-SEA
TAVIRA-MAR ISLAND
BARREL
NARROW EARTH
BISHOP'S VILLAGE (11)
ALMADENA-OLD HUTS
MOUTH OF THE RIVER
CASTLEJO
ROPE
FURNAS
INGRINE
sledgehammer
MARTINAL
SALEMA
TUNEL
ZAVIAL
Vila Real de Santo António (3)
FACTORY-SEA
BURBOT
ROUTE BLANKET
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