Camp de Morvedre Coastline Earns Black Flag over Port Construction Damage
Environmental group Ecologistas en Acción has included the beaches of Puerto de Sagunto and Canet d'en Berenguer in its 2026 Black Flags report, blaming port works by the Valencia Port Authority for damaging the local coastline.
The Camp de Morvedre coastline has returned to the annual black-spot map published by Ecologistas en Acción after several years away. The environmental group has awarded one of the province's two black flags to the Valencia Port Authority — which also manages the ports of Valencia and Gandía — over works it says are damaging underwater Posidonia oceanica meadows near Sagunto's port. This seagrass is an EU priority habitat under the Habitats Directive; when its meadows shrink, beaches lose a key natural buffer and become increasingly vulnerable to erosion.
The group alleges the works have raised water turbidity and proceeded without an environmental impact assessment. Beaches named as affected include Puerto de Sagunto (coastal district), Almardà, Corinto, Canet d'en Berenguer and Puçol. The report also warns that material transport to Valencia port is threatening protected species near the Natural Park of l'Albufera.
Ecologistas en Acción is demanding an immediate halt to the works and the start of coastal restoration. In 2026 the group awarded 48 black flags across Spain — two per coastal province — of which six went to the Valencian Community, according to elperiodicodeaqui.com.