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The Xunta de Galicia's Alberto Nunez Feijoo stated the measure will allow for an 'unblocking' of the Galician aquaculture sector. (Photo: Xunta)
Galicia 'unblocks' aquaculture
SPAIN
Friday, November 13, 2009, 02:00 (GMT + 9)
The government of Galicia will authorise the installation of a new aquaculture plant for the first time in five years. The marine farm, located in A Piela-Tal de Abaixo, municipality of Muros, will be the only one in Spain dedicated to the production of abalone.
In announcing the news, the president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, stressed that this measure will allow them “to unblock” the Galician aquaculture sector, and will help to restrain the wave of unemployment in the autonomous community.
The new marine farm, pertaining to the firm Galician Marine Aquaculture, counts on a EUR budget of 4.6 million and will occupy more than 25,410 sqm.
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Muros, Galicia. (Map: Stock File)
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The company anticipates reaching an annual output of 243 tonnes annually of abalone, while creating 29 direct jobs in the four first years of production.
For Mayor Domingos Dosil, it is “magnificent news,” as it is going to end more than five years of effort, Correo Gallego reports.
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman of the BNG and town councillor of Facenda, Maria Xose Alfonso, recalled that the company already possesses a municipal license to begin construction, although it had to delay as it was not able to do it in term stipulated.
“We are very eager for them to begin as soon as possible, and visualize the work that has been done during all these years,” Alfonso added.
The spokesman of the PP, Miguel Prado, called on executives of Galician Marine Aquaculture to apply “more pressure” towards the construction of the aquaculture plant, since “it is going to imply economic aid for the region of Muros, considering that this depends mostly on income from the sea.”
The abalone is a gastropod mollusc in high demand in the Asian market, especially in Japan, which is why the Galician shellfish sector has great expectations for its local development and commercialisation.
The authorisation of plant construction “breaks” a blockade of five years in the Galician aquaculture sector, since the local government demanded that prior to installing new fish farms, a map be drafted in which it would be possible to locate them.
The prior bipartite government of Galicia, formed by PS&G and BNG, had rejected the firm Pescanova’s request to install a turbot plant in Tourinan, in the Muxia municipality, in a bid to preserve the environment, given that the location chosen forms part of the Natura Network.
Last September, however, the Xunta de Galicia announced that it would authorise the Galician multinational to build in that zone. In addition, it gave its approval for the construction or expansion of other plants planned for the Galician coast. The Muros plant is the first to receive authorisation.
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By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
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