Amid a significant fall in the number of migrant boat arrivals on Spain's Canary Islands this year, a worrying new trend has been emerging on the African coast.

A rising number of boats have been departing from further south on the African continent, involving sea journeys that can easily surpass 2,000 kilometers.

Anselmo Pestana, the Spanish government delegate to the Government in the Canary Islands, expressed concern over this new development.

"The most recent boats that arrived in the Canary Islands had left from Guinea-Conakry. We are talking about at least ten days of navigation at sea.

"This implies that the risk is much higher for the lives of the people trying to reach the Canary Islands," he said during a meeting of the Coordination Authority on Immigration, reported by EFE.

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'Higher risk of getting lost at sea'

Although there have been departures from countries further south on the African continent in the past, migrant boats originating from anywhere south of Senegal, which is already 1,500 kilometers south of the Canary Islands, have been extremely rare in the past.

A sea journey to the Spanish archipelago from Guinea-Conakry meanwhile measures a distance of over 2,000 kilometers.

Pestana highlighted that in addition to drowning, migrants embarking on these perilous trips could end up being dragged out into the ocean.

"They run the risk of getting lost in the Atlantic and going towards the Caribbean, towards Brazil," he stressed.

Significant fall in arrival numbers

Spain has been coordinating efforts to stop migrants in the Atlantic, hoping to reach the Canary Islands with partners including Morocco, Senegal and Mauritania, where the majority of departures have originated from in recent years.

Those intercepted near the coasts of western Africa are usually returned to their country of departure or their country of origin.

These measures have meant that so far this year, the arrival of irregular migrants to the Canary Islands has fallen by 41 percent.

In 2024, just over 19,100 people had reached the shores of the Spanish archipelago by this time of the year; in 2025, the number to date stands just over 11,000.

Smuggling and trafficking rings dismantled

Pestana confirmed that this shift is due to increased collaboration between Spain and countries of origin and transit on the African continent. 

"Especially with Senegal and Mauritania, there has been a collaborative effort in which the Civil Guard and National Police also participate," he highlighted, adding that in particular, intelligence sharing between countries had aided in fighting various smuggling networks.

"[W]e see that criminal organizations and mafias are being dismantled … and even the arrest of facilitators who belong to mafia networks engaged in human trafficking," he explained.

According to Pestana, all these measures have resulted in "a cumulative effect of a very notable reduction."

Pestana summarized that all things considered, there had been "a positive evolution of the collaboration with the authorities of these countries," which he said he hoped would continue.

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Violent crime on Mediterranean route from Algeria

Pestana meanwhile also highlighted the emergence of another trend, with a growing number of migrants opting to head for the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean from the coast of Algeria — a journey, which at its shortest distance is close to 250 kilometers.

"[A] significant number have arrived [in the Balearic Islands] in recent weeks, also with people who, apparently, had been killed on these boats. 

"Several corpses of handcuffed people have recently surfaced in the Mediterranean, usually of sub-Saharan origin," Pestana stressed, adding that an investigation into this latest phenomenon had been launched.

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with EFE