The Tenerife Association of Friends of Nature (ATAN) and the group of local surfers Alianza Alianza have called a concentration this Sunday, at 11.30 am, in Playa Honda (Las Américas), to protest against the spills to the sea on the island.
The organizers alert in a note about the constant presence of fecal waters, chemicals and health waste on the beaches, which have already caused diseases among those who bathe or practice sports in the sea.
Despite these evidences, they indicate, “the authorities are not activating protocols that guarantee bath safety or offering transparent information.”
Therefore, they request that public, frequent and accessible analyzes be carried out on the quality of the water, clear protocols for closing and immediate signage of contaminated beaches, urgent modernization of the wastewater treatment system and that there are political and technical responsibilities for the lack of action.
“The sea is not a landfill. The beaches cannot be risk areas. Our health is not negotiated,” they say from ATAN and local alliance.
Both groups insist that this mobilization wants to “break institutional silence and make visible an environmental and sanitary problem that affects everyone.”
“It is not an exclusive action of surfers, it is a collective call to defend the right to a clean sea, safe beaches and a responsible management of the environment,” they point out.
In recent weeks up to six beaches on the island have had to be closed by the presence of fecal bacteria. The most serious case is that of Playa Jardín, in Puerto de la Cruz, which has been closed since July 2024 without so far the discharge that caused such a measure has been solved.
Tenerife has more than 190 dumping points to the sea, most of them without permission or with expired permission. Only 34% of the island’s discharges are authorized, according to the discharge census prepared by Tragsa in 2021.
