Plan to protect Corralejo’s Saladar de Bristol opens for public scrutiny

The Canary Islands Government has opened a plan to protect Saladar de Bristol in Corralejo to public scrutiny. The plan would make it a site of scientific interest. Diario de Fuerteventura reported the news on 30 October 2026.

La Oliva council asked for the coastal area to be protected in May 2026. The plan is a step towards protected status, but the site has not yet gained that status.

What would the protection cover?

The plan aims to protect the ecosystem and the links between its plants, animals and physical surroundings. It also sets out ways to maintain and restore habitats. These include places where birds shelter, feed and nest.

Saladar de Bristol lies along a stretch of low, rocky coast. It has a large intertidal area that seawater floods as the tide rises.

The regional government says the site’s geology and coastal features make it of great scientific interest. These include volcanic terrain, fixed dunes and platforms formed by marine erosion. The site also has a beach and a coastal depression.

A plant community found nowhere else in Fuerteventura also grows here. It includes species listed in the Canary Islands Catalogue of Protected Species.

A process dating back to 2014

Efforts to protect the site began in 2014. Scientific reports studied and mapped its land-based plant communities. They also highlighted the variety of life found there.

Manuel Miranda is the Canary Islands Government’s minister responsible for territorial policy. In a statement, he said the area would join the Canary Islands Network of Protected Natural Areas once the process is complete. The network currently has 147 areas. Together, they cover more than 40% of the Canary Islands’ territory.

The source report gives no deadline for public comments or date for completing the designation.