Tabarca in terms of marine ecology. Therefore, waters around Tabarca were declared a Marine reserve in 1986, the first of its kind in Spain. This status was mainly granted due to its submarine posidonia prairie, which is the largest in the Spanish Mediterranean and has an extraordinary ecological value in terms of marine fauna and flora. In order to both enhance the marine biodiversity and protect it from fishing, an artificial reef was laid near the island by the Marine Reserve authorities. Tabarca Tabarca (, ) also known in Valencian as "Nova Tabarca" and "Illa Plana", and in Spanish as "Nueva
Tabarca of Alicante, jointly with el Palmeral, Aiguamarga and Urbanova. The local census (2011) counted 68 inhabitants and its postal code is 03138. The islet is long, with a maximum breadth of and absolutely flat. Almost next to the main islet lie the islets of "la Nau", "la Galera" and "la Cantera". It lies approximately south-southeast from Alicante and east-southeast from Santa Pola. Tourism is the main economical activity, especially during the summer. There are several boats connecting Tabarca with Alicante, Santa Pola and Torrevieja, with higher frequencies during summer time. Before 1700, the island was known as "Illa de Sant