The emergency channel at Ses Salines beach in the Ses Salines Natural Park on the island of Ibiza has become an improvised landing stage for auxiliary boats, primarily dinghies from nearby catamarans and sailing boats. Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera has observed first-hand on any given morning how the channel reserved exclusively for emergencies maintains a constant flow of boats accessing the beach as if it were an authorised access point, with a large number of small boats on the shore.
Those who use this route include residents of nearby anchored boats, such as Juan and Alexia, who say they have spent the season on their boat for over a decade. «It is common for an environmental officer or the lifeguards themselves, who act as police officers, to reprimand us for leaving the dinghy here,» they explain. Together with their dog, Perri, they recount how they have had to find ways to avoid problems. «At night, we take the paddle surf out and load it into the car, because one morning, the tractor that cleans the beach overturned our dinghy. But if we have shopping to carry, there’s no other way to do it».
Other regular users, such as Matías and Eduardo, agree that there are no alternatives. ‘I live on my boat and go ashore to throw out the rubbish; this is the only way I can do it,’ says Matías. ‘You rent one of the buoys and have no way of getting ashore; it makes no sense,’ adds Eduardo. Both insist that the use of the channel is covered by nautical regulations, as it is an anchorage area: ‘The law allows you to go ashore via any nautical channel, and if I take friends on board, I should also be able to use it.’
However, this practice conflicts with the specific function of the channel: to serve as an exclusive route for lifeguards or medical emergencies. According to a witness, in just three hours, coinciding with the boarding times for nautical excursions, he observed a dozen boats passing through. Some, upon noticing the presence of an environmental officer, diverted their customers to other points such as Cap des Falcó, sa Canal or the access channel of the Sailing School, near the emergency channel. ‘This happens every day, with all the nautical charters there are. Most of them are illegal,’ he says.
It should be pointed that nautical charter activity within the Ses Salines Natural Park is not authorised. In this sense, it is an unauthorised activity given its environmental impact on a protected area. Although many companies have insurance and general documentation in order, they do not have authorisation from the Coastal Authority to embark and disembark on the beach, which makes their operations illegal under current regulations.
In Ses Salines, it is estimated that between 13 and 17 nautical charter companies could be operating outside the law. Most use auxiliary vessels — mainly dinghies — to access the coast. The only exceptions tolerated are boats that transport customers to restaurants, considered a lesser evil compared to the risk of the beach being filled with private boats invading the protected public area.
Despite control efforts in areas such as Sa Caleta and Es Codolar, where activity is more restricted thanks to the presence of government environmental agents, the situation in Ses Salines remains out of control, despite regular checks by these agents. While some people argue that they need access because they have no other option, the accumulation of ‘dinguis’ on the beach endangers not only the safety of the emergency channel, but also the conservation of a protected environment that cannot withstand the increasing impact of summer nautical activity.