The president of the Balearic government, Marga Prohens, has announced that the Balearics will review the decree regulating the rental of boats on the islands, in order to combat illegal boat rentals and rentals without the necessary qualifications, as it poses a risk to safety and people who make good use of the sea and navigation. Prohens told the press about the government’s plan after the meeting of the Nautical Sector Committee in the islands at the Club Nautico de s’Arenal.
Prohens said she lamented the incident that occurred in Cala Bona last weekend, which ended the life of Guillem, aged 20, when he was fishing in a boat with his uncle and another relative, a matter that she hopes the Guardia Civil will investigate to the end in order to clarify what happened. For this reason, during Tuesday’s meeting with the sector, the president advocated fighting against the illegal offer of boat rentals and rentals without the necessary qualifications.
She pointed out that, in order to combat these irregularities, collaboration between institutions has been intensified to detect these bad practices. Prohens also referred to another challenge facing the sector, related to sustainability, which is why the round table emphasised the need to analyse the environmental impact of the sector and guarantee the conservation of the marine environment, something “fundamental” for the nautical sector, which in the words of the president, must be an ally to analyse improvements and implement measures in sensitive areas, with data, rigour and consensus.
Participants also addressed the lack of professional and university training in the marine leisure sector in the Balearics.
In addition, the Balearic president insisted that maritime spatial planning is an obligation. “The years of criminalising the nautical sector and linking it only to a small section of the population are over. The sea, the nautical sector, yacht clubs, research points, ports, must be placed at the centre of the government’s policy,” she said. She referred to the need to give tools to this sector in the Balearics to generate competitiveness and that the islands are a reference point for the marine industry, among other points.