Locals say “no” to Calpe fish farm expansion

Around 250 people joined the Calpe City Council in voicing their objection to the expansion of the fish farm in Calpe, many carrying barriers that said simply “no”.

The protest at the expansion of the fish farm took place on May 29, with the Mayor of Calpe Ana Sala joined by the local fisherman’s association and many other businesses and environmental organisations.

Expansion of the fish farm was approved by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries against the wishes of Calpe and neighbouring town Benissa. Both councils and many locals agree, say that the area should be a natural living sea and not a fish farm that they say ruins the natural beauty and ecology of the area. .

Environmental groups agree saying the area should be kept pristine and natural, in its original state, with antibiotic and algaecide discharges affecting the seabed and the fish that normally reside in the area. According to Ecologists in Action around 17 per cent of all the feed that is used in the farm contains antibiotics, and either floats to the bottom or is consumed by the local fish stocks.

Not only is the feed bad for naturally occurring stocks, it also damages the local ecology according to the same source.

Local fisherman are also unhappy with the fish farm, which they agree affects local stocks, but also their businesses. Simply, they would like to see locals eat local fish.

According to the council, the owners of the fish farm were given during the pandemic, approval to increase the size of the farm from six to 45 cages. They add that not only will there be more cages, but the new ones are six times larger and will have a major impact on the beauty and ecology of the area.

The council have submitted an appeal against the decision to allow the expansion of the fish farm. The appeal is supported by two environmental studies, however, as at the time of writing, no response has been received.

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