The Coalición Canaria - PNC group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote will request the government group “to demand from the Government of the Canary Islands, among others, the suspension of the recent public tender called for the selection of a project for the granting of an aquaculture concession between Arrecife, San Bartolomé and Tías, published in the BOC last Thursday, November 18”.
CC assures that “it is not opposed in the least to the development of aquaculture, aware of the need to maintain the balance of fishing resources and biomass”, which points to the “inevitable development of this type of industry throughout the planet”.
“However, we believe that the advancement of aquaculture techniques allows us to explore other locations with less impact, in addition to the development on land of this type of exploitation for which an island lends itself, for obvious reasons, if planning allowed it”, says the deputy spokesperson for CC-PNC, Pedro San Ginés.
From CC they value the negative effects that this activity “would have” in the proposed location, such as “the loss of artisanal fishing areas, the visual impact, the impact on the traffic of tourist and recreational boats”. The political formation recalls that “it is located in one of the best regatta fields in Europe for sailing in all its forms, one of our great bets as a destination”, and adds “the environmental effects generated by the sediments of organic remains of food, the excrement of fish, or the impact on seagrass beds, etc.”. “You only have to see how turbid and lacking in marine life the bottoms and beaches of Playa Quemada are”, emphasizes San Ginés.
“We are aware of the opposition of all the fishermen's associations: La Tiñosa, San Ginés, Playa Blanca and La Graciosa, mainly due to the reduction of fishing areas, which is drastic in some cases, the breach of the PROAC itself in terms of the minimum distance to residential areas or the risk to the health of users in the vicinity of these exploitations to which the report sent by the General Directorate of Public Health refers regarding the non-compatibility of these spaces with bathing areas”, said the nationalist councilor.
“We are aware that the current governments of the Canary Islands and Cabildo will argue that the authorship of the PROAC corresponded to CC or the absence of allegations by the island government in its day”, the nationalists affirm. However, CC adds that “regardless of the fact that the affected municipalities of San Bartolomé and Arrecife, then presided over by the PSOE, did not present allegations either”, they maintain that what it is about at this time “is not about finding culprits but about looking ahead and finding solutions”.
Coalición Canaria points out that the PROAC was approved “in July 2018”, and that on the one hand “it is a living document that can and should be subject to revision” and, on the other hand, “it was the current government that approved both the definitive detailed planning of the areas suitable for aquaculture, by order of February 11, 2021, as well as the current public tender last Thursday, November 18”.
The Nationalist Group asks “not only for the suspension of the aforementioned tender and, in any case, to present an appeal against it”, as “the City Council of Tías has announced that it will do”.
“We do not know the result of the appeal for reconsideration against the order of February 2021, on which we also urge the Cabildo to continue fighting, if necessary, in the TSJC”, the nationalists affirm.
Finally, the CC-PNC group urges “a modification of the Regional Aquaculture Planning Plan (PROAC), given the landscape, tourist, nautical-sports and environmental impact that these industries would undoubtedly have on the coast of Costa Teguise, Arrecife, San Bartolomé, Puerto del Carmen or Playa Blanca of great relevance to the island's economy”.
