With a positive recommendation, but also with the imposition of strict conditions, the Report of the Special Ecological Assessment concerning the expansion of the fish farming of the company Temri Group Ltd.
The existing production license amounts to 1,000 tons per year of sea bream and sea bass. The new proposal asks for permission to double productivity to 2,000 tons per year. The company's marine facilities are located in the sea area of Agios Georgios Alamanos in Monagroulli.
The company is requesting the doubling of its annual production, a proposal that has been carefully considered by the relevant government agencies and environmental organizations, focusing on the potential impact on the proposed Site of Community Importance (SCI) of the Natura 2000 Network "Agios Georgios Alamanou". The proposed project is 765m away. from the existing marine protected area and 306m. from the proposed site of Community importance.
The Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFMR), which took a detailed position on the study, appeared positive regarding the implementation of the project, noting that the implementation of the appropriate mitigation measures does not seem to cause significant or irreversible effects on the protected area. At the same time, the DFMR clarified that the unit is already within the established aquaculture zone according to the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP).
For its part, the Department of Forests also expressed its agreement, stating that the expansion of the unit does not affect an area of its own competence, setting as the only condition the full compliance of the company with the measures of the MEOA and the terms of the other departments.
The environmental organization Terra Cypria also expressed its positive stance, calling, however, for strict prevention conditions to be incorporated into the opinion for the protection of marine fauna.
The proposed increase in production will require the creation and installation of an additional 24 circular cages and 38 floats with an anchoring system consisting of 56 concrete blocks. The production of the 2,000 fish is expected to be achieved gradually within four years of the approval of the expansion.
In order to ensure the ecological balanceof the Natura 2000 site, the committee responsible and the stakeholders have set a clear framework of measures and conditions:
1. Strict conditions are introduced to avoid injury, drowning or entrapment of protected species, such as pelagic seabirds and large marine predators, in fish cage networks, following the standards of previous authorisations in the same area.
2. It was clarified that the monitoring of the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus), which uses the area for foraging and resting, will continue to be carried out centrally by the specialized team of DFMR and not as an additional obligation of the company.
3. The exclusive use of high-quality EU approved food and the implementation of good feeding practices to limit organic residues on the seabed are imperative.
4. The stocking density will be strictly regulated regardless of the size of the fish cages.
5. DFMR considered that the effects of sediment deposition on the neighbouring Posidonia meadows are limited due to distance, while they are fully covered by the institutionalized Operational Monitoring Program of aquaculture units.
6. Proposals for the installation of additional monitoring stations or the conduct of autonomous research work by the company were rejected, as it was considered that the existing longitudinal data and state controls were sufficient.
