Spain's coastal pollution report flags 48 sites as 'Black Flags

Ecologistas en Acción released its annual ‘Banderas Negras 2026’ report, identifying 48 black‑flag sites along the roughly 8,000 km of Spanish coastline – two per province or autonomous city, one for contamination and one for mismanagement. The most common problems are sewage discharges (14 flags) and inadequate wastewater treatment, followed by urbanisation and illegal occupation of the public maritime domain (8 flags), biodiversity impacts (9 flags), chemical pollution (7 flags), over‑tourism (4 flags), unnecessary port or coastal defence works (3 flags), waste and micro‑plastic accumulation (2 flags) and damage to cultural heritage (1 flag).

Specific locations highlighted include the Bay of Algeciras (Spain and Gibraltar), Huelva’s Ría de Huelva and Playa Central de Isla Cristina, Tenerife’s Las Teresitas and Puertito de Adeje, Melilla’s Aguadú coast and San Lorenzo beach, and several sites in Galicia such as As Catedrais, Illa Pancha, the Baiona port expansion, Cabo Estai, the Monte Neme mine tailings and Cabo Prioriño. The report introduces 20 concrete ecological‑restoration proposals and stresses that they must be incorporated into Spain’s National Restoration Plan, due to the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, which the country must submit by 1 September 2026. Ecologistas en Acción urges the government and regional authorities to act promptly to halt further degradation.