According to local reports, last Wednesday, March 23, four fishing cofradias representing the Galician fishing communities of Muros, Noya, Porto do Son and Portosin, together with associations of mussel gatherers from the Muros estuary, put the finishing touches to their submission against intensive industrial salmon aquaculture off the Galician coast of Spain.
The company North West Foods plans to install salmon cages in the vicinity of the Muros and Noya "rias" areas, that local fishers say are rich in marine life and are of crucial importance for the inshore artisanal fisheries. The project was approved in 2008 by the Xunta de Galicia, the autonomous regional government, thereby allowing salmon to be reared in Galician territory.
Last Monday the cofradias launched a campaign to garner support for their submission, which they will hand over to the ombudsman. They have already obtained between 3,000 and 4,000 signatures. Their objective is to reach around 15,000 to 20,000.
Reports from the University of Vigo and the Aquaculture Cluster however, have already been submitted to the Galician Chancellor for Marine Affairs, Rosa Quintana, which claim that salmon cultivation is not polluting.
The cofradia leaders from Noya, Muros and Porto do Son, have joined hands with the collectives of mussel gatherers, artisanal vessel owners using passive gear, and environmental organisations to reject the project. They claim that intensive industrial salmon aquaculture poses a major threat to the environment, citing the examples of Chile, where intensive use of antibiotics, waste discharge, sea lice infestations and viral disease have devastated fisheries and small-scale aquaculture in southern Latin America. Following on from the protests organised last week in the Galician capital, more demonstrations are planned.
