Canary Islands Government Faces Backlash Over Unpermitted Fish Farm in Protected Marine Zone

The Canary Islands’ Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty is facing criticism after a major procedural error regarding a large-scale fish farm off the coast of Adeje. According to documents obtained by the Tenerife Association of Friends of Nature (ATAN), the regional government granted a permit for the "ZIA-TF-5" aquaculture zone without notifying the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco), the national body responsible for protecting marine areas.

The project, awarded to Socat Canarias S.L. in February 2026, is significant in scale. It covers 45 hectares of seabed and includes two 600-meter-long structures housing 24 cultivation cages. The farm is expected to produce 3,000 tons of sea bass, sea bream, and amberjack annually. However, the site sits directly within the Teno-Rasca Special Area of Conservation, a protected Natura 2000 site that serves as a vital habitat for bottlenose dolphins and loggerhead turtles.

Miteco confirmed in a June 15 letter that it was unaware of the project until late May, when it received an objection from the Adeje City Council. By that point, the Canarian Government had already selected the operator and finished the public consultation period without ever requesting a mandatory environmental impact report.

Local officials and environmental groups argue that the farm is incompatible with the area’s environmental and landscape values. They contend that the entire approval process should be declared void due to the lack of an environmental impact study. In response to the oversight, the national government has now launched an official review to gather the necessary documentation and issue a belated report on the project.