In Sardinia, the timeless appeal of crystal-clear waters is increasingly colliding with a difficult problem: the arrogance of uncontrolled luxury tourism. The alarm has been raised in the La Maddalena Archipelago, where National Park president Rosanna Giudice compared the invasion of yachts and small recreational boats to a "swarm of locusts" devastating the marine ecosystem. In some of the area's most exclusive coves, including the famous Cala Coticcio on Caprera, more than 100 boats a day reportedly drop anchor illegally just a few meters from the shore, damaging precious Posidonia seagrass meadows and turning pristine corners of the coast into crowded open-air parking lots. The problem is being exacerbated by climate change: as summer extends well beyond the traditional holiday season, irresponsible boaters are continuing to descend on the coast well into September. Although the Coast Guard patrols the waters and issues dozens of fines to those stopping in areas reserved for swimmers, simple penalties have proved insufficient to deter people who treat a protected natural heritage site as their private garden. Authorities are now threatening tougher measures to curb the damage: repeat offenders could face the immediate and permanent revocation of their navigation permits.