The coast of Arrecife faces a potential threat that seriously endangers its survival. The environmental impact of all the activity planned for the capital's seafront would be of such magnitude that it would be the final blow to a city hard hit after the socio-economic crises of recent times.
In February of this year, the Government of the Canary Islands approved the zoning of the aquaculture interest area of Lanzarote (ZIA LZ-2). This means that marine structures can be installed for cage production in more than nine kilometers of coastline. It will affect the coastal front of the municipalities of Teguise, Arrecife, San Bartolomé, Tías and Yaiza. Both the Island Council and the affected town councils, with the exception of Arrecife, have already expressed their disagreement. So have the Chamber of Commerce and the tourism employers' association.
The installation of marine cages off the coast will have disastrous consequences on the coastal ecosystem. To give us an idea, we have the experience of the marine environment of Playa Quemada: the detritus, waste and debris from the activity carried out for years by the fish farms have created a layer on the seabed, acidified the water and impoverished the quality of the beaches. At first glance, the landscape deterioration due to the structures on the surface of the water can be seen; these are a risk for the birdlife that dies trapped in the nets that protect the production of gilthead seabream and sea bass, two foreign species that can be a problem for native species.
In particular, it must be taken into account that other projects are also looming over the Arrecife marina that will directly affect it: the expansion of the cruise port, the increase in maritime traffic, the installation of offshore wind turbines or the motor water leisure activities planned from the islet of La Fermina. Not to mention the constant damage caused by an avenue open to road traffic or the discharges from the outfalls that evacuate waste water. There is no doubt about the socio-economic consequences linked to the high ecological impact due to the increase in pressure on the environment.
Next year will mark a decade since the largest citizen demonstration that the island of Lanzarote has experienced. At that time, and as now, both projects authorized by the Administration threatened everything that makes us a unique territory. The oil explorations of REPSOL, endorsed by the Spanish Government and defended by the Popular Party of the Canary Islands of the then minister, José Manuel Soria and of the current mayor of Arrecife, Astrid Pérez, were sufficient cause for Lanzarote and the Canary Islands, united in a single voice, to oppose such an environmental, social and economic disaster. Will it be necessary for citizens to take to the streets again to defend the territory they inhabit? If that were the case, I will be there again.
Leandro Delgado, councilor of Lanzarote En Pie in the Arrecife City Council.