Promoted by the IbizaPreservation Blue Crime Classroom, the study will address marine pollution from an interdisciplinary approach that unites science and ecological criminology
Ibiza 09/06/2025 – The Mar PITIUS_25 project began this Monday with a study that will evaluate the quality of Ibiza’s coastal waters during the second half of June.. The analysis will pay special attention to the ecological and social impact of brine discharges from desalination plants, as well as other pollutants of human origin, such as urban effluents, microplastics, hydrocarbons and substances with the potential to act as endocrine disruptors.
Promoted by the IbizaPreservation Blue Crime Classroom at the Universitat Jaume I and directed by Dr. Esteban Morelle-Hungría, in collaboration with Dr. César Bordehore, this interdisciplinary study combines marine science and ecological criminology. “This is a pioneering initiative that also incorporates a legal and ethical perspective, considering ecological damage as flagrant manifestations of environmental injustice,” explained Morelle-Hungría.
The fieldwork for this project will focus on areas near underwater outlets of desalination plants and wastewater treatment plants. In these areas, physical and chemical data, the presence of emerging contaminants, and ecological parameters will be analysed. The campaign aims to establish a baseline of different key environmental parameters for the conservation of the marine environment, such as the quantity and type of microplastics, hydrocarbon levels, or sonar mapping of some areas of special interest on the seabed. The intention is to repeat the study annually to see how these parameters evolve and, if necessary, propose improvement measures to the various competent administrations.
The project, led by Jaume I University, in collaboration with IbizaPreservation, also has the support of various entities such as the Santa Eulària Yacht Club , the Torre la Sal Aquaculture Institute (CSIC), the Balearia Foundation, the MarLab Laboratory of Dénia (University of Alicante), the environmental group GEN-GOB and the Santa Eulària des Riu Town Council.
The campaign began this Monday with sampling in three types of areas.: discharge (near wastewater treatment plant outfalls and desalination plants), sensitive (Posidonia meadows and tourist coves), and control (far from sources of impact). At each of these points, samples will be taken at different distances from the source of the discharge to analyse key parameters of the marine ecosystem.
In addition, on Wednesday 18th June, with the support of the Santa Eulària Yacht Club, an educational event will be held for high school students, who will embark to participate in a scientific internship related to the oceanographic campaign. “At IbizaPreservation, we are very happy to be able to contribute not only to the generation of data that helps us understand the true state of the marine environment, but also to enable the young people of our islands to gain such a direct exposure to science through such an exciting project,” emphasised the foundation’s director, Inma Saranova.
