Jet ski illustration – M.Bosredon / 20Minutes
- The number of jet skis is increasing in the Arcachon basin. Residents have launched a petition calling for a ban on these boats.
- They denounce the “non-compliance with the speed limits on the Basin, the very strong noise nuisance with locals and reasonable tourists” or the “danger for swimmers and the degradation of the sea coasts and sandbanks”.
- The petitioners challenge the Prefect while their text launched five days ago has more than 400 signatures.
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“Non-compliance with speed limits on the Basin “,” Very strong noise pollution with reasonable residents and tourists “, etc. A petition has been posted on the site
Change.org to ban sea scooters on the
Arcachon bay (Gironde). Launched five days ago by “residents of the Basin for the past twenty years”, it gathered this Thursday evening, more than 480 signatures.
Determined, the residents challenge the prefect and denounce the “non-compliance with the speed limits on the Basin (20 knots), the very strong noise pollution with reasonable residents and tourists, the danger for swimmers (non-compliance with the areas of swimming), the degradation of the sea coasts and the sandbanks “or even” non-compliance with the nautical rules of the Basin “, knowing that jet skis” do not respect either the priorities, their safety or the speed authorized in the moorings ”.
“Feel like you’re at the 24 Hours of Le Mans”
According to these inhabitants, the Arcachon Basin has become “hell” because of the increase in the number of jet skis. “It is unbearable, at the beach, to have the feeling of being on the edge of a racing circuit or at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Let’s respect everyone’s space, ”said one of the signatories, commenting on the online petition. And these residents are not the only ones to mobilize since a another petition, launched this time by four days ago, also calls for a ban on jet skis on the Basin.
This time, the text emphasizes “noise and ecological pollution”. “Please, leave the sea and the fish alone, stop polluting the water with your disgusting oils and engines, stop making noise even on the water. Enough, ”says Olivia, in a comment. The petition which is addressed to the mayors of the Basin collects more than 2,800 signatures this Wednesday evening.
The practice of nautical motor vehicles is regulated by the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture. On a 300-meter-wide coastal strip covering the entire Atlantic coast, sea scooters are allowed to operate at a speed of five knots, the prefecture specifies. 20 minutes. A
decree dating from 2014 specifies that the speed of jet skis is limited to 20 knots inside the Arcachon Bay.
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