Formentera’s island council has asked the Spanish Government Delegation in the Balearics to take charge of removing the small boats used by migrants to reach the island, on a regular basis and with more resources. Its own clean-up is under way, but it says it cannot keep pace on its own.
Eighteen boats off the coast
Over the past few days the Consell has removed 12 boats from Es Ram, S’Estufador and Ses Pesqueres Altes, and six more are due to be collected on Friday, completing a contract for 18. They are shipped straight to Ibiza, where the company hired by the Government Delegation destroys them.
The aim is to stop the boats piling up along the shore and to limit their impact on the landscape and the environment. But the council admits it will not be enough: some boats are still waiting to be removed, and new ones arrived this very week.
150 boats waiting at Es Cap
On top of that, around 150 boats have built up at the island’s waste site at Es Cap. They are still waiting for the Government Delegation to collect them and ship them to Ibiza.
Verónica Castelló, the council’s first vice-president and environment councillor, called one-off removals insufficient for a problem that returns with every new arrival. She asked for a continuous, quick response with enough resources. “Formentera cannot keep absorbing the build-up of boats on its coast, nor the environmental and safety consequences that come with it,” she said in a statement.
