canary islands six blue flag ports 2026

Six Canary Islands ports awarded prestigious Blue Flags

Six Canary Islands ports awarded Blue Flags for sustainability

The Canary Islands has made history by becoming the first autonomous community in Spain to receive Blue Flag awards for publicly-managed ports of general interest. Until now, these internationally recognised distinctions had only been granted to marinas and leisure ports.

Pablo Rodríguez, the regional minister for public works, housing and mobility, along with José Gilberto Moreno, managing director of Puertos Canarios, announced today that six ports across the archipelago have been honoured: Las Nieves in Agaete, Garachico, Gran Tarajal, Playa Blanca, Órzola and Caleta del Sebo. The Blue Flag recognises excellence in environmental quality, safety, accessibility and user services.

Remarkably, this is the first time in the history of the Blue Flag programme in Spain that six ports of general interest have received the accolade in a single edition.

Leading a new approach to port management

During the announcement, Pablo Rodríguez highlighted that the recognition “demonstrates that the Canary Islands is leading a new way of understanding port management, based on sustainability, innovation and the continuous improvement of public services.” He added that “ports are strategic infrastructure for connectivity and the development of our islands, but they are also spaces that must move towards more efficient, accessible and environmentally respectful models.”

The minister explained that the six Blue Flags are a continuation of the work carried out by Puertos Canarios under its 2024-2027 Strategic Framework, which aims to transform regional ports into “EcoPorts”. This drive is focused on optimising operations, sustainability and the public image of port facilities.

Improvements and environmental education

Puertos Canarios has carried out improvements in equipment, services and operational capacity across all six awarded ports, representing what the minister described as “an unparalleled effort at national level.” During this period, technical and operational teams have strengthened environmental information and education, waste management and cleaning, accessibility, public toilets, and first aid, rescue and firefighting facilities, in line with the strict criteria of the Blue Flag programme.

More than 25 environmental education activities have been developed, involving nearly 500 participants including students, port users, boat owners, technical staff, emergency services personnel and volunteers. These have included marine pollution drills, seabed clean-ups, environmental awareness days and campaigns to protect shearwater birds through scheduled port lighting blackouts.

A milestone for Órzola and recognition for the team

José Gilberto Moreno thanked the staff of the public body for their work, stating: “These six Blue Flags are the result of the effort and commitment of the entire Puertos Canarios team to continue improving our facilities and offering higher quality public services.” He also noted that the recognition “projects the image of islands committed to sustainability, the care of the coastline and the modernisation of their port infrastructure.”

He highlighted that the port of Órzola becomes the smallest publicly-managed seaport in Spain to receive a Blue Flag.

Digitalisation strategy for 2026-2030

Moreno also outlined the main lines of a digitalisation strategy that Puertos Canarios will implement between 2026 and 2030, aimed at modernising the management of public port domain and improving the experience for users, professionals and businesses.

Among the planned initiatives is the creation of the PIC-Puertos Inteligentes Canarios (Canary Islands Smart Ports) integrated platform, which will centralise port information, work with real-time data and facilitate interoperability between systems. This will be complemented by the deployment of LoRaWAN connectivity, environmental IoT sensors, digital service displays, and new public information tools linked to the Smart EcoPorts model.

Puertos Canarios will also update and digitalise operational procedures and forms, develop an application for managing the public port domain, install information totems and renew the service catalogue to enable a more agile, transparent and accessible relationship with concessionaires, businesses and the public.

Towards a model of Smart EcoPorts

Both the improvements that led to the six Blue Flag awards and the new technological roadmap form part of the strategy promoted by the Canary Islands government to consolidate a model of Smart EcoPorts across the archipelago, focused on sustainability, innovation and excellence in public port management.

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