Ben Magec decries “ecological atrocity” of Corralejo seafront promenade works
Agonane – Ecologists in Action denounce the impact that the construction of the Corralejo seafront promenade is having on the town’s coastal habitats. They describe it as a genuine “ecological atrocity” to see La Goleta beach – known locally as Waikiki beach – filled with trucks unloading black sand and gravel along this narrow stretch of coastline. Agonane demands that the project details and the author of the environmental impact study be made public.
The environmental group calls it “very painful” that public money is being used to “reward those who have been illegally exploiting the beach for years to get richer.”
On several occasions the ecologists have reported to the Coast Authority the occupation of the Maritime‑Terrestrial Public Domain “in an exaggerated way with chairs and tables almost up to the water.” The Coast Directorate sealed off these terraces on multiple dates, only for some owners to break the seals. The activists also claim:
“We have seen how the Prosecutor’s Office yielded to the interests of one of these powerful businessmen, thus betraying the public interest.”
Ben Magec recalls that this sandbank, “because of this uncivil situation and various wastewater discharges caused by these bars,” was awarded the national Black Flag of Ecologists in Action in 2022. The group now laments that “the very administration led by the Town Hall of La Oliva (Isaí Blanco, Canarian Coalition) and its Works Department (headed by Luis Alba, PSOE) are destroying a unique habitat of their own town.”
The collective stresses that the beach is exceptional: during the high tides of El Pino, water reaches the edge of the buildings, where chuchos (a type of striped manta ray) mate on the shore, and one of the world’s most threatened shark species, the angel shark, is found. The area also contains pools where birds such as zarapitos (sandpipers) and vuelveviedras (rock thrushes) still gather, along with other migratory species feeding on fish and crabs. It is a unique urban habitat with natural values that surpass even the famous Las Canteras beach, now “despised by proud politicians who still live with the mindset of the Marquis era, even though none of them have lived through the dictatorship.”
For the ecologists, it is contradictory to sell the natural values of the Canary Islands and the municipality of La Oliva at tourism fairs while simultaneously investing money to destroy that very nature, especially since the promenade’s budget is tied to the Canary Islands Government’s Tourism Department, overseen by Jéssica de León of the Popular Party.
They conclude that progress in Fuerteventura “remains linked to Franco‑era development driven by heavy machinery and cement.”