Formentera and Ibiza celebrate World Oceans Day with paddle surfing, snorkeling, and training

The Ibiza and Formentera Conservation Foundation (IbizaPreservation) will celebrate World Oceans Day with free activities on June 8th and 9th. The events will include a marine outreach workshop on the beach, as well as paddle surfing and snorkeling in Formentera, and a training session aimed at marine professionals in Santa Eulària. The initiative is supported by the Formentera Council, the company Whitesand Solutions, and the Balearia Foundation.

Coinciding with the anniversary, which this year the United Nations celebrates under the theme “Ocean Wonders: Protecting What Sustains Us,” the first day of activities will take place on Sunday, June 8th in Formentera. The event will start at 10:00 AM in front of the Whitesand Surf School in Illetes. Participants will paddle surf to a nearby islet, where they can snorkel to identify fish and then attend a marine workshop. “The initiative has been so successful that we had to increase the number of places, and even so, there is a waiting list,” explained Inma Saranova, director of IbizaPreservation.

Following that, at 12:00 p.m., the environmental foundation, a member of the Plastic Free Ibiza and Formentera alliance, will organize a beach cleanup at Illetes open to the public, with no prior registration required for anyone interested in participating.

The second day of events will be held on Monday, June 9th, featuring a technical training session aimed at staff from Pitiusan administrations, environmental specialists, and marine management professionals. The session will take place at the Santa Eulària Yacht Club as part of IbizaPreservation’s Blue Crime Classroom in collaboration with the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón. The training will cover invasive species management, with special focus on Rugulopterix, and the legal protection of Posidonia oceanica. Interested participants can register by emailing: aulacriminalidadazul@uji.es.

On World Oceans Day, the United Nations seeks to raise awareness about the importance of the ocean, which covers more than 70% of the planet and is an essential source of life, while also warning about its deterioration. “With 90% of large marine fish species depleted, we are extracting more from the ocean than it can replenish,” the international organization warns.

In this way, IbizaPreservation joins this international day, which, according to its director Inma Saranova, “celebrates the awe inspired by the ocean on a day that invites us to protect the sea through decisions motivated by curiosity and commitment to the common good.