More than 3,000 people drowned trying to reach Spain by sea from January to mid-December 2025, according to a new report by the NGO Caminando Fronteras. The group reported 3,090 deaths, including 192 women and 437 children. This is a sharp fall from the 10,457 deaths in the previous year. Helena Maleno, the NGO's research coordinator, said the drop in deaths masks a rise in shipwrecks. She reported 303 shipwrecks this year, with about 70 boats vanishing without a trace. "This is because we’ve seen an increase in the number of embarkations on the dangerous route from Algeria to the Balearic Islands," she said. These boats carry about 30 people, compared to up to 300 on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. Spain’s interior minister confirmed that 35,935 irregular migrants arrived by sea and land up to December 15, down from 60,311 in the same period in 2024. This decline is linked to tighter border controls, especially in Mauritania. Mauritania signed a migration partnership with the EU in 2024, receiving €210 million in funding. However, Human Rights Watch recently accused Mauritanian authorities of abusing mainly African migrants, including rape and torture. Mauritania denies these charges. The Caminando Fronteras report found the Atlantic route from North Africa to the Canary Islands remains the deadliest, with 1,906 deaths in 2025. The newer Algeria to Balearic Islands route caused 1,037 deaths. A new route from Guinea to the Canaries, spanning 2,200 km, has also emerged. Maleno called the situation a policy of "necropolitics" driven by far-right parties. She said, "The persecution and witch-hunts of migrants is having a huge impact on human rights in Europe." The report concluded: "The institutional response to tragedies at sea remains patently inadequate. Although there has been collaboration between countries in some cases, there are still worrying delays in mobilising rescue missions, a lack of adequate resources and limited political will to protect lives." The 3,090 victims came from 30 countries, mostly from West and North Africa, but also Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Egypt.