Balearic Sea Report 2026 detects a sustained deterioration in water quality on beaches

The quality of bathing waters in the Balearic Islands has worsened over the last fifteen years, while beaches in Menorca are facing increased pressure from users and boats.

The Balearic Sea Report 2026 debuts with the presentation of the new chapter “Beaches”, which analyses the condition and evolution of these areas in the Balearic Islands across three key dimensions: the sanitary quality of bathing water, user numbers and density, and the pressure exerted by anchored vessels.

This chapter reveals that our beaches are not only experiencing a progressive decline in water quality, but are also under increasing pressure from bathers and boats. It is essential to extend the monitoring of users and vessels on beaches, currently limited to Menorca, to the rest of the islands, in order to improve management of these areas and ensure both the conservation of marine ecosystems and a safe, satisfying experience for users.

The conclusions show that, although overall quality and usage values remain within usual parameters, the trend points to worsening water quality and growing human and nautical pressure.

Since 2010, the proportion of waters classified as excellent has decreased, while the share classified as good has increased. In addition, urban beaches consistently show poorer water-quality results.

In 2025, 70% of the beaches in the Balearic Islands achieved an excellent rating. Formentera and Menorca are the islands with the best bathing-water quality, with 100% and 80% of their beaches rated excellent, respectively.

Ibiza is the island with the highest number of sites below the excellent category, with 32% rated good and 5% sufficient. All sites with insufficient water quality were located in Mallorca, specifically at Albercuix (Pollença) and Cala Egos (Santanyí).

The number of incidents related to microbiological contamination doubled in 2025 compared to 2024, rising from 46 to 92. Of these, 20 involved bathing bans and 72 recommendations not to bathe. The municipalities most affected by these episodes of faecal contamination were Sóller, Santanyí, Calvià and Ciutadella.

Between 2020 and 2025, a total of 396 incidents were recorded: 313 recommendations not to bathe, 82 bathing bans, and one case in which the water was declared fit for bathing. A total of 11 municipalities reported incidents every year during the study period (2020–2025): Santanyí, Calvià, Palma, Sant Josep de sa Talaia, Ciutadella, Pollença, Manacor, Sant Antoni de Portmany, Capdepera, Llucmajor and Alcúdia.

Coliform sampling is carried out only during the summer, coinciding with the peak tourist season, which means that water quality during the rest of the year falls outside the official monitoring system.

The coastline is the main tourism resource of the Balearic Islands and, during summer, attracts a high concentration of beach users. However, Menorca is the only island with data on human and nautical pressure on its beaches. Between 2018 and 2024, the number of users on Menorca’s beaches increased by 10%, and the proportion of beaches exceeding a maximum of 1,000 daily users rose from 14% to 17%.

The increase in users has been gradual, interrupted by the COVID-19 health crisis in 2020. The highest number of users was recorded in 2021, followed by a 10.5% decrease in 2022, and then an increase to levels similar to 2021 in 2023. The decrease in users in 2024 may be due to the methodology used that year.

In 2023 and 2024, urban beaches concentrated the highest number of users compared to unspoilt beaches and also offered the least space per bather. In 2024, 17% of beaches showed very high user densities, with less than 5 m² of beach surface per user, which is considered insufficient.

Regarding the user carrying capacity each beach can sustain, since 2018 this has almost always exceeded the optimal 100% threshold. In 2024, 36% of beaches exceeded this carrying-capacity limit (>100%). These were mainly unspoilt beaches with services. The beaches with the highest user pressure (>200%) were also unspoilt beaches with services: Macarelleta (575.5%), Cala en Turqueta (424.7%), Cala Mitjana (371.3%), Es Talaier (311.2%) and Macarella (203.3%).

It is essential to continue monitoring programmes and to expand information on beach use to the rest of the islands in order to improve bathing-area management, ensure a safe and satisfying experience for users, and guarantee the sustainability and balance of these natural spaces, which concentrate high human pressure and other impacts within a very limited area.

Over the years, a gradual increase has been observed in the presence of anchored boats on Menorca’s beaches. In the last five years, the number of boats anchored daily during the summer season has increased by 48%.

Unspoilt beaches with services bear the greatest nautical load. Between 2018 and 2023, the average number of daily boats at this type of beach increased by 68%. In 2024, these beaches supported an average of 26.4 boats per day, while urban beaches recorded a daily average of 14.2 boats.

The maximum number of anchored boats recorded on a single beach increased by 137% between 2018 and 2023, reaching 142 boats at La Vall–Es Bot and Es Tancats beach, the highest value recorded in the 2018–2023 period. In 2024, a methodological change prevented comparison of the data.

The increase in boats anchored at beaches, likely driven by a wide tourist offer of recreational boat rentals, entails environmental risks such as habitat destruction from anchoring, water pollution and underwater noise.

Having information on the number of boats anchored at beaches is essential to assess the nautical pressure they exert on the environment, study potential impacts on marine ecosystems, and establish measures that ensure the safety of users (bathers, snorkellers, divers, kayakers, etc.) and sailors, as well as the conservation of natural spaces. It is therefore urgent to extend this information to the rest of the islands.

These are some of the conclusions of the Beaches chapter of the Balearic Sea Report 2026. Beaches are complex, dynamic and highly fragile systems that provide ecological and economic benefits to Balearic society. They help protect the coastline and are one of the main tourist attractions of the islands. Poor bathing-water quality and high user pressure threaten their conservation. To establish appropriate beach management, it is necessary to understand their sedimentary evolution, land- and sea-based use, and to maintain sanitary monitoring of bathing waters.

The full Beaches chapter is now available on the Balearic Sea Report website:https://www.informemarbalear.org/playas/.