This week, the publication in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana means that the proposals for a new fish farm of the coast of Torrevieja has been approved.
The business initiative is promoted by Gramabasa, the same company that operates in Santa Pola and already has facilities in Guardamar, and which belongs to the Culmarex group.
The project includes the construction of a marine farm for fattening sea bream and sea bass. The promoter intends to progressively reach a production capacity of 8,000 tons per year. The facility will be made up of 84 cages with a diameter of 38.20 m, a perimeter of 120 and a volume of 13,753 m3 for each cage. These spaces will be distributed in 6 equal fleets of 14 production cages each. Likewise, it is intended to install 18 commercial cages, 16 metres in diameter,
The facility will be located in the open sea near the port of Torrevieja. It will occupy a polygon of 221.8 ha (2,218,725 m2) of maritime-terrestrial public domain concession, as stated in the resolution of the Generalitat, in an open and exposed stretch of coast located at a distance of 2,000 metres from the theoretical lower limit of the closest posidonia oceanica meadow, maintaining a depth quota average of – 45 metres.
The project has been in process since September 2019, when the environmental evaluation of the project was requested, which has been rejected by the Santa Pola Fishermen’s Association because, according to their allegations, “the new aquaculture facility would harm the environment with the probability of destruction of gorgonians, to the fishing boats that sail through the area every day to reach fishing grounds and to the smaller arts that fish in that perimeter”.
The City Council of Torrevieja, as well as the Fishermen’s Association of the Municipality, also received allegations. However, after collecting reports from state agencies and the Ministry itself in favour of the project, the general director of Quality and Environmental Education of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition has approved this environmental statement.
