Fight to keep Gulf of Valencia oil-free continues

The list of opponents to oil exploration in the Gulf of Valencia continues to grow.

Jose Mas, president of Calpe’s Royal Yacht Club is also president of the Association of Valencian Community Yacht Clubs.  All members oppose the surveys planned by Cairn Energy, he said.

Mas emphasised the need to fly the flag and defend the Valencia coast at a recent meeting with Ana Perez, local councillor for Land Protection.  He was accompanied by Juan Perez who heads Calpe’s fishing guild which, like all Marina Alta guilds is fighting the exploration .

Calpe town hall has challenged Cairn Energy’s environmental impact assessment, Perez assured them.    

Authorising the prospections means “a life sentence” for the sea, she said.

Earlier Antoni Joan Bertomeu, mayor of Teulada-Moraira, joined the chorus of protests from Denia and Javea. 

“Our coast must not suffer, bearing in mind its natural wealth, the fragility of its biodiversity and the harm to tourism and fishing,” Bertomeu said.

Benissa town hall also rejects the Cairn Energy project in a fight that is uniting the Marina Alta, regardless of local political aims and ideology.