The 3rd affirmative Environmental Impact Evaluation (ÇED) on the tuna fish farm planned to be established in Sığacık Bay is rejected by İzmir 1. Administrative Court. The decision has been approved and legitimized by the Supreme Court. The news has been appreciated by Seferihisar and Izmir residents. Seferihisar Mayor Tunç Soyer said that the annulment orders must be obeyed, the fish cages and facilities must be moved out from the bay.
This is the 3rd ÇED report declared off by the court since 2010. Since this last declaration is legitimized by the Supreme Court, no further applications can be made for a new ÇED report in favour of the fish farm company.
İzmir 1. Administrative Court made another important decision on an environmental case.
REJECTION TO CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT
A fish farm operating in Ildır Bay in Cesme, Izmir applied for a ÇED report for permission of capacity enhancement of the fish farm producing sea bream and sea bass by moving the facility to Sığacık Bay. İzmir 1. Administrative Court rejected the application with environmental reasons. The court stated that it would not be adequate to increase the capacity of the fish farms without gathering sufficient information about the sea conditions of the area and possible impacts of the facilities to the mentioned area in the long term.
“APPLY THE COURT ORDER”
After the declaration of the court order, Seferihisar Mayor Tunç Soyer made a media statement. Mr. Soyer said: “We always explained why we were against the fish farms. Sığacık Bay is not suitable for this kind of projects. We won all the cases we filed against the fish farms since 2010. The legal expert reports also confirmed that Sığacık Bay is not suitable for tuna fish farming. Our cause is justified by the Supreme Court. It is obligatory to obey the court order.” Mayor Soyer added that related petition for the closure of the existing fish farm has been signed by hundreds of people and delivered to the related institutions on March 16th. Mayor Soyer: “The active farms at the bay are operating for 9 years and they already did enough damage to the area. The facilities must be moved out from the bay as soon as possible, without waiting for the legal 30-day period. The fish farms must be established in the open sea, not in closed bays like Sığacık. The municipality, Izmir and Seferihisar residents, NGO’s, writers joined their forces for this challenge and we succeeded.”
The Urla and Seferihisar residents fought against the capacity enhancement of the new facilities and now wait for the closure of the existing fish farms in the bay.