La Maddalena, here are the new rules for access to the park

"Passengers of traffic vessels will not be allowed to access the beaches with bags, backpacks, coolers and inflatables with the exception of those used as swimming aids (armbands, small boards, life jackets)". This is provided for in the first point of the agreement, signed yesterday in La Maddalena, between the La Maddalena Archipelago National Park Authority and the Passenger Transport Operators , in whose waters they operate.

"The pass - continues the first point of the agreement - is granted only to small bags and purses for the storage of personal effects and/or valuables, while umbrellas can only be used by families with small children, elderly people over sixty-five and people with particular pathologies ". Furthermore, "it will not be permitted to bring food on the ground, feed wild boars and, in general, disturb wild fauna".

At the same time , shipowners "to avoid direct contact with the sand, are committed to promoting the use of mats and, on an experimental basis, towels made from materials that do not retain sand and are equipping motor vessels with rinsing systems to remove sand residues when passengers board after each stop".

The agreement between the Park and Passenger Transport Operators, for which the director, Giulio Plastina, has worked for a couple of years, also provides for "the use of compostable and biodegradable materials on board (plates, glasses, dishes, etc.), as well as special containers for waste separation". Ashtrays will also be distributed, to avoid the dispersion of cigarette butts into the environment and adequate information will be provided on the smoking ban on the beaches.

The commitment between the Park and Operators also concerns the low-volume diffusion of musical content and compliance with the ban on dispersing food waste or detergents into the sea. Finally, the document identifies new and different landing points and aims to restore some previously used points, proposing alternative routes to the simple landing on the beaches.

An agreement therefore, underlines the National Park, which «represents the meeting point between the need for environmental protection and the economic interests of the Passenger Transport sector».