The Formentera Council takes its concerns regarding “party boats” to the Balearic Government

The Formentera Council's counsellor of Tourism, Trade and Mobility, Alejandra Ferrer, addressed the general director of the Govern Balear's Ports and Airports, Antonio Deudero, in regard to parties on catamarans that continue to occur along our coastline in summer.

With consideration for the events of last summer, which included the death of a young Austrian man and numerous cases of alcohol poisoning, the Formentera Council wishes to transmit our profound concern regarding this issue and to once again relate the complaints and incident accounts of Formentera residents about noise-pollution and the negative impact on the island's image produced by these Eivissa-based excursions.

Furthermore, many of the watercraft engaging in excursions to Formentera do not comply with water safety regulations, possessing insufficient lifevests for the number of passengers aboard or incurring excesses of maximum passenger capacity, and in some cases providing regular Eivissa-Formentera service without possession of the necessary permits and authorisations.

It is important to note the extremely-limited nature of the Formentera Island Council's authority in this area, allowing only for checks by the island's environmental control agents and the supervision of beach lifeguards that extends 200 metres from the waterline (the zone of swim). In view of the fact that the watercraft in question remain outside the zone of swim, intervention by Council staff is made difficult. These excursions furthermore occur principally within the limits of the natural park, defying the Use and Management Guidelines (Pla Rector d'Ùsos i Gestió) of the zone, naturalist excursions being the only such activities that receive authorisation.

Considering the background of the issue and the important repercussions on Formentera's tourist image, on the safety of the tourists taking part in this kind of activity, and on the tranquility of those individuals who come to our island on holiday, the Council of Formentera wishes to know what control and inspection measures the Balearic Government is expecting to employ to stop this kind of activity in protected areas and near our beaches in general, in order to avoid more unfortunate incidences than those already seen.