She took office on September 1, the day after a particular season in the Calanques National Park which, for the first time, to establish access quotas to fight against the overcrowding of some of these sites. On the eve of a new tourist season, which will be its first, the director of the park Gaëlle Berthaud and the communication officer of the park Zacharie Bruyas give for 20 Minutes Marseilles a first assessment of the limitation of visitors to Sugiton before returning to the challenges to come in this natural space which has become very attractive.
Last year was experimented with the introduction of quotas to access a creek, that of Sugiton. How do you assess it?
Gaelle Berthaud (GB): On Sugiton, the assessment that we made to the board of directors lately is very positive, first on the perception of this experiment. It is clear that this measure has been understood, and its meaning of preservation too. Today, the board of directors has decided to continue the experiment over five years, because the environmental impact is not going to be seen in one season. We managed to see some regrowth in some places. But very sincerely, before there is soil erosion that is stopped or that we find roots that find a normal space, it will take about five years. This is the other deadline we give ourselves to look at things.
Do you plan to extend this reservation system to other creeks?
UK : No. The issue of environmental inventory at Sugiton required it. But we don’t have all the creeks that are in this environmental state. And what’s more, it’s a special device that can’t be put everywhere. It’s not easy.
Zacharie Bruyas (ZB): On the other hand, this year, in En-Vau, which is facing a form of overcrowding, regulations are being put in place for paddle sports. The kayaks could occupy a third or even a half of the beach. We are not going to play on the volume of attendance but on the fact of freeing up a space. They put the kayaks on the rocks, and damaged the natural habitat, in particular a form of calcareous algae. They walked on them and degraded them.
What does this regulation consist of?
ZB: On En-Vau and Port-Pin, for the rental of paddle sports boats, we made a call for tenders so that professionals can rent boats. There are four lots. There are two lots of forty boats and two lots of twenty boats. The call for tenders is over and we are going through the applications. The interest of this system is to have a better knowledge of who is renting what. There are some boats that can question. We don’t know where they come from, if they have permission… Cabanoniers tell us so and it’s questioning. They see a van arrive and put kayaks on the beach….
UK: We will make our choice based on environmental criteria. There are also security criteria. They must also put in place coordinators on site also to accompany in particular on the two sensitive creeks the people who have rented. The objective is to give information and that things go well. All of this regulation also makes it possible to limit illegal rental. There, we formalize a legal rental.
The other novelty of last season is the establishment of a naturist cove in the heart of the park, the cove of Pierres Tombées. How is it going ?
UK: I haven’t necessarily had any feedback on conflicts of use, except from the association of naturists who note that boats are approaching a little closer. Moreover, to broaden the subject, we, what we saw last summer, is that there is a lot more incivility at sea. There is verbal violence, including at against park officials. There are a certain number of boats which, today, do not necessarily have marine codes, with a lot of music, alcohol, parties on board… Is it also related to these amusements? that can be seen at sea from getting closer to the Calanque Pierres Tombées? I don’t know, but in any case, this year, we will have eco-guards at sea supported by the regional council. We will have two regional marine guards and we will have special attention to objectify that.
ZB: It is a phenomenon that we have always seen, this question of noise. There is also a bit of a “show off” side. You come to the creek of En-Vau, you also put the sound to be seen. It is also true that boat rentals are becoming more and more popular, with platforms that have developed. We are preparing a video with a Marseille influencer known to address a fairly urban audience or tourists who do not have a very developed culture of the sea to give them the keys. And we are going to encourage rental companies to show them this video.
How do these incivilities on board pose a problem?
ZB: There is a conflict of use. The sea is also a working space. More and more fishermen are telling us about the presence of boats which bombard near them, which destroy the nets. We try to make our visitors aware of the fact that we must respect the work of those who are in the park.
UK: There is also a sound impact vis-à-vis wildlife. Boats have a proven effect on all marine species. And besides, there is a very clear decree from the maritime prefect which says that there must be no noise pollution for reasons of environmental protection. If some act like that, it is surely out of ignorance, thinking that at sea, we have complete freedom.
For several years, the Parc des Calanques has been engaged in a logic of “demarketing”, aimed at not promoting visits to an idyllic place in order to cope with overcrowding. Do you see results?
UK: With demarketing, the idea was to give tourists a true image, and not pretend to give a false image. But where we are vigilant, it is not to fall into the opposite effect and to bashing the creeks. To say that this space is catastrophic… No! This space is always exceptional with great landscapes. And the other important thing is not to say that we don’t want tourists to come. Demarketing is not to say that this space is closed and reserved. It’s fair to say that some of the images conveyed are not the reality because there are a lot of people. But we are not against tourists, not at all! We wanted to be in a process of transparency, but there are always effects that are not wanted. We did not mean that tourists are not welcome. On the contrary, tourists are obviously welcome in the creeks. I don’t know if you’ve seen the post of Geo, which took up an American guide, who cited all the tourist sites where you should not go. And we are number 2…
Do you have any fears for the upcoming season?
UK: One of the main issues facing the park is the issue of fires. The vulnerability has existed for a very long time, with the mistral effect and vegetation that burns quite quickly. But when I see that there are still people who bivouac last weekend and use stoves, we see that there is a real need to communicate on the subject, while South-West France has been devastated last summer.