The lack of knowledge or environmental awareness affects one of the most important species in the Mediterranean Sea, the Posidonia, an aquatic plant vital for biodiversity that suffers greatly from the massive influx of boats that anchor in Ibiza.
On the seabed, Posidonia (Oceanic Posidonia), a species endemic to the Mediterranean, contributes to the oxygenation of water, serves as reserve for fish, molluscs and crustaceanssince they are places of spawning, shelter and food. In addition, its arrangement makes the waves break with less intensity on the beaches and thus avoids the loss of sand.
Posidonia disappears little by little and concern is expressed because its extension in the Mediterranean has been reduced between 13% and 38% since 1960. In the Balearic Islands, it has even reached 40% of its disappearance in certain areas.
Bad anchoring techniques
The main reason for the disappearance of Posidonia is the incorrect anchoring techniques used and causing destruction due to anchors and the chains of the boats that drag and sweep the seabed, uprooting the bushes.
The Balearic Islands are one of the places where nautical tourism is most in demand, which implies certain dangers that translate into a greater reduction in posidonia due to the failure to comply with the necessary precautions when anchoring.
In addition, its 4 main islands (Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) are covered with square kilometers of PosidoniaThe Balearic government has therefore had to take measures to preserve it as much as possible.
More than 2,000 moorings in Posidonia
Last year the island suffered another year, due to results of monitoring work and the actions to protect them, which are reflected in the data of the Posidonia Monitoring Report of the Posidonia Monitoring Service of the Balearic Government.
The data was revealed thanks to the IbizaPreservation Sustainability Observatory in its Annual Sustainable Development Reportfinanced by the Consell de Ibiza and which is currently in the preparation phase.
The figures reveal that during the year 2023, 2,219 boats had to move because they were anchored on Posidoniawhich represents 6.1% of the total number of vessels checked.
Foreign ships
From this figure, more than half of offenders (51%) were vessels of foreign origin, which, according to IbizaPreservation, highlights the clear lack of knowledge of local regulations on the part of visitors.
Furthermore, 83% of ships that anchored irregularly did not use assistive technology toolssuch as map applications or the Posidonia GOIB service.
The year 2023 also reflected a 23.7% increase in the actions of the Posidonia Monitoring Service managed by the Conselleria de Medi Ambient i Territori del Govern Balear, increasing from 37,473 in 2022 to 46,359 interventions in 2023, despite continuing to have the same four surveillance vessels assigned to the island.
New strategies
Likewise, from 46,359 actions carried out last year78.2% (36,251) corresponded to checking the condition of the anchorage and chains of the ships; 8.5% were assigned to information work, while a further 8.5% provided advice on how to avoid damage to the Posidonia before the ships dropped anchor.
According to the technical coordinator of the Sustainable Development Observatory, Elisa Langley, “the percentage of ships that I don’t know the 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 highlights both the work carried out by the Surveillance Service and the need to maintain and improve resources to ensure greater scope for its actions.
More control in Ibiza
“It is necessary to recognize the work in progress and its relevance in our environment, taking into account that the number of actions carried out in Ibiza are above the regional averagewith 11,589 interactions per surveillance boat, compared to an average of 9,519 in the Balearics,” Langley said.
The Observatory also stresses the need to implement more restrictive measures to avoid the massive anchoring of boats on the coasts of Ibiza and Formenteraparticularly on the Posidonia seagrass beds, as well as to regulate the intense maritime traffic that occurs during the tourist season.
In addition, the entity requests have sufficient personnel to ensure the safety of all maritime practices; as well as increasing communication channels with visiting vessels to ensure compliance with coastal and maritime regulations and protected marine areas and habitats.
