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Staff Reporter THE average number of boats on the waiting list to moor up on the Island of Cabrera, a National Maritime Park, is some 12 a day, with Saturdays seeing figures shooting up to 30.

Only a certain number of boats are allowed mooring each day around the Island due to strict access laws in place to protect the National Park. The figures provided above by the park's administration apply only to hopeful outsiders, waiting for a slot, in spite of the fact that the quota of moorings might already be full.

During the month of June, the mooring quota for the month (50 a day) was eaten up in the space of 18 days, a situation which has obliged the park's administrators to set up a waiting list.

Permission for mooring on Cabrera is given to a boat when it registers the intention to stay overnight in the Maritime Park. If it does not remain berthed for the night, permission for mooring is not granted, only for sailing through.

From January to June this year, 3'876 mooring permits have been granted on Cabrera, numerically distributed as follows: 125 January; 127 Februry; 214 March; 765 April; 1'232 May; 1'413 June. Up until 13 July, 1'168 permits have been granted. The total for the year to date is already 5'044.

Numbers of boats with licenses to moor in the Park from January to June this year, has only been 15 more than in the same period in 2003, although it is expected that this July, the number of permits granted will be close to 2'000. In July last year, 1'444 were successfully applied for.

All Saturdays in June this year, the quota of 50 boats moored per day on Cabrera was taken up, the same as for Saturdays so far in July.
In moorings alone, working on average figures (established by the National Park) of five passengers per boat, more than 25'000 people would have passed through the waters of Cabrera so far this year. From this quantity, however, a small, undetermined amount would have to be removed to account for boats which didn't turn up on the appointed day in spite of having successfully applied for a mooring permit.

Nevertheless, by the end of July, some 30'000 people might have spent the night in Cabrera since the beginning of the year.