Mazatlan has five beaches certified in different categories

The port of Mazatlán already has five certified beaches, four with white flag, three of them in the Recreational category: Estrella de Mar, Luna Bonita and Gaviotas; one in the Conservation category: El Verde Camacho, and the most recent to obtain its Platinum certification: Playa Pinitos.

Roberto Terrones Cortés, head of the Operadora y Administradora de Playas, commented that two more stretches are in the process of being certified: Playa Norte, from Facimar to El Muchacho Alegre and from Monumento al Pescador to Torre M.

"It is difficult, but not impossible. The work we have been doing is providing us with a very good cleaning of the beaches," he commented. Precisely in this second stretch of beach there is a storm water drain, through which sewage also leaks, a situation that represents a problem to obtain the certification.

"It does affect but at the moment we do not have a plan to revert it because it is a natural drainage, of rainwater, that we must take care of so that in the future we can ask them to relocate the sewage that begins to filter through there, because the drainage is natural, but something has happened there that has become contaminated with drainage water", he acknowledged.

The certifications are under the supervision of the Mexican Institute of Standardization and Certification according to Semarnat's standard 120. The elements to be evaluated are general requirements, particular elements according to the modality, water quality, waste, biodiversity, safety and environmental education services.

Among the benefits of being a Platinum beach is the recognition for its scenic beauty, environmental excellence, achieving a significant decrease in pollution rates, in addition to promoting tourism in coastal destinations and boosting the economy.

El Verde Camacho, a turtle sanctuary, is the most extensive beach in the world certified with a white flag in the "priority for conservation" category. Estrella de Mar is the largest beach in Mexico certified for recreational use with a little more than two kilometers in length. Playa Pinitos is the first certified beach that does not depend on the concession of a hotel company.