Ibiza's Acoustic Pollution

Published 5 November 2007 Stephen White.

Tags: Ibiza News

four rush-hours every day

It may be Spain's smallest municipality at only 11Sq.Kms, but Ibiza still has the same problems as the country's really big cities. A recent study whose aim was to draw up a 'noise photo' of the city has concluded that traffic noise is problema numero uno.
Not surprisingly, with four rush-hours every day and not enough roads and parking spaces, the city is at its worst between 18.00 and 22.00 on weekdays.
However, acoustic pollution isn't just a problem for we land dwellers. A French biologist Michel André has revealed that the seas around Ibiza are some of the noisiest in the world. The constant to-ing and fro-ing of maritime traffic – fishing boats, ferries, cruisers and so on - is having disastrous effects on the denizens of the deep.
Whales and Dolphins which rely on their super sensitive hearing for communication and navigation are in danger because of their exposure to excessive and continuous noise. Many are already deaf because of it and their prospects of survival are very low.
Possibly the study of these creatures which is being undertaken with the aid of Balearia ferries will help to reveal more?

Print version