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Twenty-plus watercraft get boot from Estany des Peix shoreline

foto-edpeix-retirada-31The Formentera Council's environment office reports that six derelict pieces of nautical gear are getting the heave-ho today from the waterline of Estany des Peix. From boats and kayaks to windsurf boards and trailers, this most recent operation puts the current total of objects removed from the lakeside at over twenty.

As the island's environment secretary, Daisee Aguilera, explained: “When it comes to our attention that something  has been left on the shore, we issue a notice and give owners one month to come and get it. If they don't, it's considered rubbish”. So far this summer, agents charged with patrolling the waterline have written eleven citations for cases of dumping.

The patrols enabled objects to be identified as either abandoned or likely to leak potentially dangerous liquids. In some cases, agents found that the left objects blocked peoples' passage through the area.

When the condition a boat or other object is in either makes it a leak hazard or renders its navigation unsafe, the Council can report it to the responsible authorities, in this case Demarcació de Costes, the coastal authority in the Balearics, and ses Salines nature reserve, part of the Govern balear. If the object is still there after one month, it is considered waste, a condition that then enables the Formentera Council to remove it and issue a fine.

The majority of found objects don't possess features by which their owners can be identified and are transported to waste management facilities at es Cap de Barbaria.