Posidonia Surveillance Service actions increased by 23.7% during last year’s campaign
Ibiza, September 10, 2024 – The data from the Posidonia Surveillance Report of the Balearic Government’s Posidonia Surveillance Service, collected by the IbizaPreservation Sustainability Observatory in its annual Sustainability Report financed by the Consell de Ibiza and currently in the preparation phase, reveal that during 2023, 2,219 vessels had to move due to being anchored on posidonia, which represents 6.1% of the total number of vessels checked.
Of this figure, more than half of the offenders (51%) were vessels of foreign origin, which, according to IbizaPreservation , points to the manifest lack of knowledge of local regulations by visitors. Furthermore, 83% of the vessels that carried out irregular anchoring did not use technological assistance tools, such as mapping applications or the Posidonia GOIB service.
The year 2023 also reflected a 23.7% increase in the actions of the Posidonia Surveillance Service managed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment of the Balearic Government , going from 37,473 in 2022 to 46,359 interventions in 2023, and this despite continuing to have the same four surveillance vessels assigned to the island as in previous years. Likewise, of the 46,359 actions carried out during the past year, 78.2% (36,251) corresponded to checking the state of the anchoring and the chains of the vessels; 8.5% were used for information work, while another 8.5% provided advice on how to avoid damage to Posidonia before the boats dropped their anchors.
According to the technical coordinator of the Sustainability Observatory, Elisa Langley, “the percentage of boats that are unaware of local regulations and the existence of technological resources puts on the table the need to develop new strategies for accessing information to avoid anchoring on Posidonia as much as possible”. The coordinator also highlights the work being carried out by the Surveillance Service and the need to maintain and improve resources to ensure a greater scope of its actions. “It is necessary to recognise the work being carried out and its relevance in our environment, taking into account the number of actions carried out in Ibiza is above average regional, with 11,589 interactions per surveillance vessel, compared to the 9,519 average in the Balearic Islands”.
The Observatory also insists on the need to implement more restrictive measures to prevent the massive anchoring of boats on the coasts of Ibiza and Formentera, particularly on Posidonia meadows, as well as regulating the intense maritime traffic that occurs during the tourist season; having sufficient personnel to guarantee the safety of all maritime practices; as well as increasing the communication channels with visiting vessels to ensure compliance with coastal, maritime and marine protected areas and habitats regulations.
