Anchoring in Ibiza and Formentera
Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, the possidonea meadows that cover the seabed of the Pitiusas are one of the most valuable (if not the most valuable) assets of our nautical tourism. We are going to give a few small tips, which we always offer both our boat rental clients and boat owners, to learn how to anchor properly in order to take care of and protect such a precious good.
The posidónea meadow is the main cause that in the Pitiusas we can count on some of the best beaches in the world (as several times have been the users of the portal Tripadvisor, which positioned Ses Illetes as the 7th best beach in the world last year). It helps enormously to the oxygenation of the waters, consolidates the seabed, acts as a barrier against waves and prevents erosion. All this has as a consequence that we can enjoy the crystalline turquoise waters, so typical of our coasts.
To protect it is a duty of all navigator and marine that crosses our waters, given that the badly thrown anchors and the spills can damage it with severity.
That is why the Balearic Government has implemented a series of specific measures to protect it. One of them has been to delimit the anchorage areas with fields of buoys so that the boats can moor to them in a safe way. These areas have been called SCI (Places of Community Importance) and are divided into 3 categories:
Free anchorage
It is important that, although the anchorage is free, it is only anchored on sand. In this area, the safety rules apply to bathers' areas.
Regulated anchorage with buoys
Where 4 subcategories are established: red buoys for anchorage up to 8 m; white buoys for the 8 to 15 m; yellow buoys for the 15 to 25 m; and green buoys for anchorages between 25 and 35 m.
Restricted anchorage
It is totally forbidden to anchor in these areas for any boat.
In the case of free anchorage, as we have already said, it is very important that the anchorage is always in sand, that is to say, in the clear zone. The anchors, especially the larger ones, can do a lot of damage to the posidonea. By throwing the anchor on sand and trying to prevent the chain from passing over the algae, we will be able to contribute to the conservation of the prairie. It is necessary to leave at least three or four times (depending on the length of our boat) the depth to which we find ourselves and calculate that we have enough space with the other boats in case the wind rolls and our boat dies.
As for regulated anchorage with buoys, the Department of the Environment of the Government of the Balearic Islands developed and launched with the participation of the Directorate General of Fisheries, the Fundació Bosch i Gimpera, and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, the project "Protection of Posidonia meadows in LIC areas of the Balearic Islands, known as the Posidonia LIFE Project. This project manages the regulated anchorage areas of Espalmador, Caló des Oli and Playa de Ses Salines.
Booking a buoy is very simple and can be done through the website or by downloading the mobile application.
