The Canary Islands Government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty has approved a large marine farm off the Adeje coast without notifying the federal authority responsible for the affected protected marine area.
The Ministry for Ecological Transition acknowledged this oversight in a letter dated 15 June, which was obtained by the Tenerife Association of Friends of Nature (ATAN) through a public information request.
In February 2026, the contract was awarded to Socat Canarias S.L., which plans to exploit the Aquaculture Interest Zone ZIA-TF-5 situated between Veril Beach and Troya Beach. The project aims to deploy 24 cages, each 25 metres in diameter, across two fixed structures measuring 100 by 600 metres, covering 45 hectares of seabed to produce 3,000 tonnes annually of seabass, gilt-head bream, and amberjack.
The site overlaps with the Teno-Rasca Special Conservation Area, part of the Natura 2000 network, home to common dolphins and loggerhead turtles. The area’s management plan notes it has the highest sightings of these species.
The Ministry only became aware of the project on 22 May, not through the Ministry of Agriculture but following the transfer of a decree opposing it from Adeje Council. By that time, the regional government had already selected a contractor and placed the initiative under public consultation without consulting the necessary impact assessment.
The council lodged objections with the Tenerife Island Council, the competent body for processing such matters. They argued that the chosen location is unsuitable due to its “high environmental and landscape value.” Their concerns align with those raised by various community groups regarding the site’s ecological importance.
The General Sub-Directorate for Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity has requested all project documentation from the Ministry and informed ATAN that it will provide its report once the information is received. ATAN also contends that the procedures are legally void due to the absence of an environmental impact assessment in the publicly available documentation.
