Spain says the number of migrants coming to the country by sea from Africa fell by almost half in 2009. 西班牙称，2009年非洲由海路入境的非洲移民数量下降了几乎一半。 The Canary Islands have often been the point of entry for migrants Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said 7,285 such migrants arrived in Spain last year, compared with 13,425 in 2008. The number reaching the Canary Islands加那利群岛 was the lowest in a decade, he said. Mr Rubalcaba attributed the change to security measures, repatriations遣送回国 and co-operation with African nations, and not to the recession in Europe. "The [financial] crisis has had an effect on illegal immigration from Latin America, but the drop in the numbers of small boats [from Africa] is above all due to the work of the police, to the repatriations and the co-operation with countries of origin such as Algeria, Mauritania毛里塔尼亚, Senegal塞内加尔 and Mali," he said. The number of those arriving in the Canary Islands stood at 2,246 last year, down from 9,181 in 2008, he said. In recent years, the route between West Africa and the Canary Islands has been one of the most popular for migrants trying to reach the EU from Africa. The journey is often attempted in ill-equipped boats provided by smugglers走私者, and migrants frequently drown at sea.

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