Calpe (Alicante) warns that it will continue fighting fish farm extension

CALPE town will go on fighting plans to extend the existing fish farm off its coast.

Mireia Molla, who heads the Generalitat’s Agriculture department, met Calpe mayor Ana Sala, councillors and representatives from the Fishing Guild, Club Nautico and business-owners’ association AEMCO on July 13.

Molla insisted that all technical procedures had been dealt with and, as far as her department was concerned, the project was “flawless” and all regulations were complied with.

“I am powerless to reverse this authorisation and doing so would constitute a breach of trust,” she declared.

Molla said that it was not within her department’s remit to address the fish farm’s “visual and scenic impact” and it did not “report on the landscape.”

She also suggested that the company which runs the fish farm should publish its Environmental Impact Assessment analyses on the Agriculture department’s website.

Drawing attention to the fish farm’s visual impact Paco Catala, president of Calpe’s Fishing Guild, also emphasised the fishing industry’s opposition to the project.

He was backed up by Jordi Carrasco from the Club Nautico who stressed the yachting and watersports sector’s dissatisfaction: “Perhaps we have left it too late,” Carrasco admitted.

Meanwhile, AEMCO’s Jose Gilabert questioned the facts and figures that the fish farm concessionary had produced for the Environmental Impact Assessment.

For her part, Ana Sala maintained that the town hall would continue to fight the fish far extension.

“We are going to study the steps we should take now,” she said.  “We are not going to admit defeat.”

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