March 29. 2024. 12:28

The Daily

Read the World Today

Plans for Europe’s largest onshore salmon farm divide opinions


Plans for Europe’s largest onshore salmon farm in southwest France, viewed as ‘absurd and disproportionate’ by activists and touted by the company behind the project as a chance to push for EU sovereignty, are now on the radar of the European Commission and Parliament.

The French project, earmarked for Verdon-sur-Mer, found its way into the European Parliament, which had its Petitions Committee (PETI) hear experts and NGO representatives on 23 March.

But Esther Dufaur, spokesperson for the Eaux Secours Agissons collective, says the project in the Gironde estuary is against EU law.

“It is an absurd and disproportionate project that will involve existing and future violations by the French state of 18 European directives, including the habitats, birds, water and nitrates directives,” she said.

The €200 million project, led by the multinational Pure Salmon, could see the light of day in 2024 and would be the largest aquaculture farm in Europe, aiming to produce some 10,000 tonnes a year.

The French are Europe’s largest consumers of salmon, getting through some 200,000 tonnes of salmon each year. But while almost all the French-consumed salmon comes from Norway or Scotland, France is home to one farm in Normandy that raises top-of-the-range “made in France” salmon from The Channel’s fresh waters.

But unlike the fish from Normandy, those from the Verdon-sur-Mer farm will be raised on land in huge basins fed with groundwater.

“This method avoids the negative impacts of sea farming. We ensure that the fish have optimal water quality, we control the growth, and this has a lot of advantages,” Paul Miliotis, head of the project for 8F, the main investor, told EURACTIV France.

The process, already used in Norway, would make it possible to meet growing demand to offer same-day salmon to supermarkets up to 600km away, the project head said.

Polluting the waters

For months, the project’s opponents have warned about the dangers of this kind of production caused by its geographical location and the sheer amount of salmon that will be produced.

This includes polluting the Gironde, Europe’s last wild estuary, located in an industrial enclave bought by the port of Bordeaux about ten years ago. It is surrounded by areas protected by national laws or EU directives due to its rich environmental qualities.

“If the farm remained solely on its industrial site, it would be fine. But the project will impact protected areas and pollute the estuary. This would undermine all the funding efforts to protect them,” Dufaur told EURACTIV France.

According to the association, water from the surface to feed the ponds will be discharged into the environment loaded with growth hormones and other medical residues. The latter could pollute the estuary in the long term, as with cadmium, a heavy metal that poses serious problems for oyster farmers in the region.

“There will be no negative impact on the environment,” reassured Millotis, whose company denies using hormones, antibiotics and vaccines, adding, “We will only discharge 0.008% of the daily flow of the Gironde estuary per day.”

Pure Salmon insists on the “control” of inflows and outflows, explaining that it is a point of honour to offer fish impeccable water quality and to return it without any pollutants.

The other grievances of environmentalists concern the high energy consumption and the poor living conditions of the salmon.

NGOs urge EU to oppose plans for world’s first octopus farm

The European Union should oppose what could become the world’s first octopus farm, two organisations said after plans for what they have termed a ‘cruel’ project to be located in the Canary Islands were announced.

20,000 tons of salmon in France by 2027

But this is not the only salmon project on the French agenda.

Local Océan wants to produce 9,000 tonnes of salmon ashore at Boulogne-sur-Mer, while Smart Salmon intends to produce 8,000 tonnes at Plouisy in the Côtes-d’Armor.

In its Aquaculture Plan for the Future, France recognises the sector’s “strong growth potential” and aims to produce 20,000 tonnes of salmon per year, up from the current 1,000 tonnes, requiring the establishment of such farms.

The European Parliament recently bemoaned that aquaculture production in the bloc accounted only for 10% of the demand and urged that the Commission – which views farming as a means of “more circular resource management” – “reverse the current trend.”

But everywhere, the size of these “factory farms” causes controversy.

“We are not against aquaculture, but against intensive fish farming. These models are environmentally destructive. Aquaculture is the second most polluting industry after cattle farming,” said Dufaur.

Promoters of the project argue the need for food and industrial sovereignty as the EU imports over 70% of the seafood it consumes.

A limit on production

The Verdon-sur-Mer project, which should create 160 jobs and significant tax revenues, has already won the approval of many local elected officials, including the town’s mayor.

But the fish are still far from the ponds, and project feasibility and environmental compliance will be examined over the next few months. The company also has to respond to a public enquiry.

Speaking to EU lawmakers, Dufaur asked the Commission to look into the matter.

“For now”, the Commission is not “able identify the violation of European law” as the project has not yet been “concretised”, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Eaux Secours Agissons and green MEPs call on the Commission to impose less lenient requirements, such as a production quantity that must not be exceeded.

On a global scale, an estimated 123 similar intensive aquaculture projects are in the pipeline.

French citizens oppose construction of new mega-biogas producer

A small town near the French city of Nantes could soon welcome a new anaerobic digester benefitting up to 200 farmers, but locals oppose the plan over concerns of environmental harm.

Read more with EURACTIV

Random citizens’ panel to advise on German food policy

Random citizens’ panel to advise on German food policy

The German parliament has decided to launch a panel of randomly selected citizens set to advise lawmakers on food and nutrition policies in an effort to help navigate the thorny issue of the state interfering in dietary choices.