Formentera Council and IBEAM sign agreement for the fifth campaign of the underwater archaeological chart

The Formentera Island Council has published in the Official Bulletin of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) No. 102, of 15 August 2026, the collaboration agreement signed with the Balearic Institute for Maritime Archaeology Studies (IBEAM) to carry out the fifth campaign of Phase II of the Underwater archaeological chart of Formentera during 2026. The agreement, signed electronically on 12 August, establishes a nominal subsidy of up to 15,000 euros and responds to a need recognised by the Council itself: the lack of technical, human and economic resources to undertake alone the execution of this key project for the management of the island’s submerged archaeological heritage.

An agreement with legal and budgetary backing

The document is published in compliance with Article 48 of Law 40/2015, of 1 October, on the legal regime of the public sector, and is based on Article 70.6 of Organic Law 1/2007, of 28 February, reforming the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands, which attributes to the Council powers in matters of archaeological heritage. The fifth campaign is also covered by the Insular Plan for the Management of the Cultural Heritage of Formentera 2026-2027, initially approved by the Council Plenary at its session of 2 July 2026, where it appears as action 1.2.2, and by the Council’s Strategic Subsidies Plan for the period 2026-2027, published in BOIB No. 31/2026, of 10 March.

The maximum amount of the collaboration is 15,000 euros, charged to budget item 336.48000 of the general budgets of the Formentera Island Council for 2026. Payment will be made in two instalments: 50% (7,500 euros) upon signing the agreement as an advance payment, and the remaining 50% (7,500 euros) from 1 October 2026, once the IBEAM has submitted the justification report and the technicians of the Cultural Heritage area have issued a favourable assessment.

The participants and their obligations

The agreement is signed by Óscar Portas Juan, president of the Formentera Island Council (CIF P0702400C), in the name and on behalf of the institution, and by Enrique Aragón Núñez, president of the IBEAM (CIF G57897308), a non-profit association based in Palma de Mallorca. The agreement, which will enter into force on the date of signature and will remain in effect until 31 December 2026, constitutes a direct subsidy regulated by Law 38/2003, of 17 November, the General Subsidies Law, and Royal Decree 887/2006, of 21 July, its implementing regulation.

To ensure monitoring, a joint committee is established, made up of two technicians from the Cultural Heritage area of the Formentera Island Council and two representatives designated by the IBEAM, as established by Article 49.f) of Law 40/2015.

What IBEAM will do on the seabed of Formentera

The tasks assigned to IBEAM are broad and cover the entire cycle of underwater research and preservation:

• Location and documentation of underwater archaeological sites on the seabed of Formentera’s inland waters, with special attention to those found at great depths and those affected by human activities such as trawling.
• Periodic inspection of previously located underwater archaeological sites.
• Gathering information from bibliography, archival documents, and oral sources, through interviews with people who may provide data on sites or materials recovered from the seabed.
• Incorporation of new data into the database and the Geographic Information System (GIS) created during the first phase of the Charter.
• Carrying out dissemination and awareness-raising activities, including the development of the SOS Patrimoni campaign.
• Implementation of specific preservation, safeguarding, and preventive conservation measures on underwater archaeological sites or elements.

Protection of information against looting

A notable clause of the agreement is the restriction of access to the complete location and description information of the located archaeological sites. This data will be restricted exclusively to the Consell Insular de Formentera and to those specialists who, for scientific research purposes, justify the need to consult it. The aim is to guarantee the safeguarding of underwater archaeological heritage and prevent acts of looting, a recurring risk in the seabeds of the Balearic Islands.

Relevance for the management of Balearic heritage

This fifth campaign consolidates the collaboration between a public institution —the Consell Insular de Formentera— and an entity specialised in maritime archaeology, IBEAM, in a field where investment in underwater research is essential to understand and protect a heritage that is often invisible. The Underwater Archaeological Charter of Formentera is a strategic document for the management of the island’s submerged heritage, and the continuity of the campaigns allows not only the inventorying of new sites, but also the monitoring of the conservation status of those already located in a marine environment subject to growing pressures such as overfishing and climate change.

Source: Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB), No. 102, 15 August 2026, Section III — Other provisions and administrative acts, p. 44882 (official reference: BOIB 102/2026, doc. 1226523, Agreement No. 8328).