No environmental drawbacks to proposed fish farm off the Villaricos coast

THE Junta de Andalucia pronounced the proposed fish farm off Villaricos as environmentally viable.

The project involves 42 cages together with another nine holding pens as well as storage platforms for feed.  The 259-hectare fish farm is expected to produce 4,500 tons of bream and seabass each year, according to the Spanish media.

The Junta’s Sustainable Development delegation to Almeria explained that only the storage zone would be inside the Levante Special Protection Zone (ZEC).

All of the cages will be located more than 1.5 kilometres away from Villaricos’ meadows of the Posidonia Oceanica seaweed that is vital for maintaining marine biodiversity.  They will also be almost 800 metres away from submerged reefs, revealed the Sustainable Development department, adding that it did not foresee a negative impact on colonies of nesting birds on Terreros Island which is more than 11 kilometres distant.

None of the area’s different types of dolphins would be adversely affected as their habitats are at a greater distance from the coast than the fish farm although Sustainable Development mentioned the “possible interaction” of bottle-nosed dolphins as  fish farm studies found “clear signs” that they regard them as a source of food.

The Junta report also stated that there were no documented cases of fish farms posing a threat to loggerhead turtles or migrating whales.