18 IBANAT Vessels Now Monitor Posidonia Anchoring

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Environment, through the Balearic Institute of Nature (IBANAT), has organized a coordination meeting to discuss the start of the new season for the Posidonia Surveillance Service. The meeting was attended by the General Director of Natural Environment, Anna Torres, and the head of the Posidonia Surveillance Service, Marcial Bardolet.

During the meeting, Torres highlighted that this season will maintain the same operations as last year, which yielded excellent results. The surveillance fleet consists of 18 vessels, distributed as follows: six in Mallorca, three in Menorca, four in Ibiza, and five in Formentera.

The director general positively evaluated the 2023 campaign, during which a total of 180,867 actions were carried out across the Balearic Islands. Torres explained that the service started on May 15 with two vessels in Formentera, one in Mallorca, one in Ibiza, and one in Menorca. Since June 1, the full fleet of 18 vessels has been operational. The fleet will be maintained until October 1, with one vessel per island remaining active until October 10.

The meeting also focused on coordinating actions between environmental agents and the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard. The primary functions of the service include detecting anchoring violations, providing information and advice to vessels on proper anchoring practices, raising awareness among boat operators about the importance of protecting this marine plant, and conducting educational campaigns to increase public awareness.

This service, with an annual budget of €552,860 funded by European Next Generation grants under the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, aims to protect the valuable posidonia oceanica meadows in the Balearic Islands.

"The Posidonia Surveillance Service of the Balearic Islands is a flagship organization, also serving as a reference for other communities and Mediterranean regions in both anchoring surveillance and collaboration with the nautical sector to improve anchoring habits," emphasized Marcial Bardolet.

In addition to providing tools for correct anchoring, the Posidonia Surveillance Service collaborates with various conservation entities. The Posidonia Phone (+34 617975172, from 10 AM to 6 PM) is available to any citizen with the goal of conserving this priority marine habitat and the quality of the Balearic Sea.

Furthermore, the results from the Posidonia Monitoring Network, recently published, show an improvement in the state of the meadows in the Balearic Islands. Data collected between 2002 and 2023 from 71 study points in different areas of the Balearic archipelago indicate stable or increasing amounts of posidonia in most locations, with a decrease observed only in about 10% of the study points. Specifically, 21% of the study points were in an unfavorable conservation state, while 79% were in a favorable conservation state.