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LA MANGA, Spain — Mar Menor, a saltwater lagoon off the coast of southeastern Spain, has long been renowned for its natural beauty, drawing tourists and retirees to its pristine warm shallows and the region’s mild Mediterranean climate.

But in the past few years the idyllic lagoon has come under threat. Tons of dead fish washed ashore as the once crystalline waters became clogged with algae.

Scientists are split on whether climate change, which causes extreme heat that reduces oxygen levels in the water, is contributing to the problem. But they agree that the nitrate-filled runoff of fertilizers from nearby farms is wreaking havoc on the waters where oysters and seahorses used to thrive. However, farmers in the area declined to take the blame.

Hugo Morán, a senior official in the central government’s environment ministry, estimates that 80 percent of water pollution is caused by the uncontrolled growth of agriculture. He also blamed some of the blame on local politicians, accusing them of long-standing downplaying pollution and proposing inappropriate solutions, such as channeling the lagoon’s abundant waters into the Mediterranean.

It just creates another victim, he said.

“In order to heal, one must first recognize the disease,” he said. Instead, we heard occasional claims from the regional government of Murcia that the Mar Menor is in better condition than ever before.”

Similar problems have recently emerged in other parts of the world. Pollution, including nitrogen-based pollutants, has been accused of accelerating the secretion of a slimy substance called mucilage. blocked the Sea of ​​Marmara In Turkey. And the waste generated by a nearby electricity scheme and oil refinery, damaged Giant Berre lagoon in southern France.

With its fertile fields and mild year-round climate, the Mar Menor’s surroundings have proven irresistible for large-scale farms, which often use ecologically harmful nitrate fertilizers. Adding to the problems has been extensive tourism development on the 13-mile narrow beach known as La Manga or Sleeve that separates the Mar Menor from the Mediterranean.

Whoever is to blame, María Victoria Sánchez-Bravo Solla, a retired teacher, is bored.

When five tons of dead fish washed In August, near his home in the lagoon, he decided he was ready to move in. He described it as an “environmental disaster that should shame our politicians and anyone who refuses to let this happen.”

Mass fish deaths of this kind have occurred several times in the past five years, and the rotting algae odor that is making the lagoon’s waters darker and more turbid is another sign of ecological crisis.

Local restaurants no longer offer Mar Menor seafood, and commercial fishing crews now trawl in the nearby Mediterranean instead. Few residents would even consider diving into the lagoon anymore.

As the problems intensified, the blame game intensified.

The conservative administration of the Murcia region says the Spanish central government in Madrid, now a left-wing coalition, should do more to help. Madrid says the responsibility lies at the local level.

Miriam Pérez, who is in charge of the Mar Menor in the regional government, said she believes political rivalries are keeping the central government from doing more.

“Unfortunately, I think political colors are important,” he said.

He said the central government has done little to support efforts to clean up the nearly 7,000 metric tons of biomass—mostly by decomposing seaweed—even after the region issued a decree in 2019 to protect the lagoon.

In August, when another wave of dead fish arrived, scientists noted that the water temperature rose significantly. But in September, the Spanish Institution of Oceanography published a report rejecting the notion that extreme summer heat helps kill fish.

Scientists instead place most of the blame on farming. In 1979, a canal was opened to carry water from the Tagus, the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula, to southeastern Spain. The canal led to irrigation that transformed Murcia into one of Europe’s agricultural powerhouses, producing lettuce, broccoli, artichokes, melons and more for export across the continent.

Agriculture represents 8.5 percent of the region’s gross domestic product and provides about 47,000 jobs, according to a study published last year by the University of Alcalá near Madrid.

But farmers around the Mar Menor deflected the blame, saying the pollution was caused by water seeping into the lagoon from an aquifer where toxic substances had accumulated for decades.

Vicente Carrión, head of the local branch of COAG, an agricultural association, said farmers now only use the amount of fertilizer needed to grow plants.

“We are to blame for what happened 40 years ago,” he said, when less attention was paid to agricultural practices and the emphasis of the authorities was focused on capitalizing on demand from all over Europe.

Most farmers are already switching to sustainable production methods, said Adolfo García, director of Camposeven, an agricultural exporter that harvests about 1,500 acres in the region. The rest should receive government incentives to invest in green technology rather than “stones thrown by people who have no knowledge of our modern irrigation systems.”

“Even if we don’t plant anything in this area for the next 50 years, the aquifer will remain very polluted,” he said.

But the debate over the aquifer is a red herring, said Julia Martínez, a biologist and technical director at the Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua, an institute that grew in the region and now specializes in water sustainability. At least 75 percent of the lagoon’s water pollution comes from currents, he said.

Another problem is the impact of tourism, which makes another huge contribution to the local economy. The hotels and restaurants of the Mar Menor are concentrated in the sandy bar of La Manga, where dozens of apartment buildings have been built, as are most holiday homes. Almost every inch of the strip has been improved.

Environment secretary Mr Morán acknowledged that the Mar Menor suffers from an “open bar” approach to issuing building permits. But he mostly blamed the runoff of manure from farms.

The lagoon was proof that “one of Europe’s biggest problems is the contamination of its waters with nitrates”.

Biologist Pedro Luengo Michel, who works for the Spanish environmental organization Ecologistas en Acción, said the agriculture and tourism industries have had wide influence, particularly at the local level, where the conservative People’s Party has ruled since 1995.

“We are facing a very strong farmers’ lobby that our politicians rely on to stay in power,” said Mr. Luengo Michel.

Mr Morán said his central government plans to use 300 million euros, or about 350 million dollars, from the European Union’s pandemic recovery fund to protect the natural habitats and waters of the Mar Menor. The plan includes replanting vegetation near shores that could stop polluted water flowing from neighboring fields.

For some scientists, watching the lagoon degrade has felt like a personal tragedy.

“As a child, I remember finding it very impressive because the Mar Menor was so transparent that I could see the sand at the bottom without noticing the water,” said biologist Ms. Martínez.

“We unfortunately have a green soup now, and I’ve definitely stopped swimming in it.”