The appearance of new pollution patches on the Telde coastline has once again raised alarm bells in the Gran Canaria municipality. Oily residue, grease floating on the surface, and dead fish in and around fish farms have reopened the debate about the impact of fish farms off the beaches of Melenara, Salinetas, and the Taliarte area.
In recent weeks, drones, local police, municipal technicians, and public health personnel have been deployed repeatedly to monitor the state of the sea, collect samples, and decide whether it was necessary to close parts of the coastline to swimmers. The feeling among residents, environmental groups, and local authorities is that the environmental crisis is far from over.
New patches of slicks and dead fish appear off the coast of Telde
The Telde City Council has confirmed the detection of new residue stains and presence de peces dead on the surface of the sea and inside the cages of a fish farm located off the coast of the municipality. Images obtained by drones and inspections by the Local Police confirm that the pollution incident is ongoing.
According to municipal sources, the debris frequently drifts towards Taliarte, Melenara, and Salinetas , coinciding with periods of southerly winds that push the slick inland. This situation has generated growing concern both about the state of the marine ecosystem and the potential health repercussions for swimmers.
Initial analyses indicate the presence of decomposing organic matter mixed with a greasy film that appears as foam and floating oil. This combination has prompted increased monitoring around the sea cages and in nearby bathing areas.
Given the repeated incidents, the city council has asked the relevant authorities to clarify whether the stains are directly linked to aquaculture activity and what type of substances are being released into the sea, beyond the remains. de peces dead already identified in previous episodes.
Beach closures and reopenings under health surveillance
The severity of the spills has led to recommendations for the temporary closure of several beaches in the municipality on various recent occasions. Melenara and Salinetas have been two of the most affected beaches, remaining closed for days while water quality and the extent of the contamination were analyzed.
In one of the most recent incidents, the Regional Ministry of Health ordered the temporary closure of Melenara and Salinetas for 48 hours after detecting greasy, fishy-smelling, foamy stains among the sea bass breeding cages near the coast. The Local Police Drone Unit captured aerial images that clearly showed the contaminant film on the sea surface.
During those days, the Beach Service, Lifeguards, and Local Police officers carried out continuous checks on the water's surface and the shoreline. After 48 hours and following approval from Public Health, the City Council decided to reopen Melenara and Salinetas beaches to the public after confirming that no significant debris was visible in the sea and that the small pieces of waste found on the sand did not correspond to new spills.
This temporary closure also occurred, just a month and a half after the general reopening of the Telde coastlinewhich had remained closed to swimming for more than 40 days due to a previous episode of marine pollution associated with a high mortality rate de peces in the cages.
That previous incident forced the closure of five beaches in the municipality and other bathing spots in the southeast and south of Gran Canaria , highlighting the regional dimension of the problem when currents carry debris beyond the bay of Telde.
Stain composition: grease, foam, and fishy smell
Public health reports and observations from technicians and agents deployed to the area describe patches of oily material floating on the surface , with a strong fishy odor and an appearance of whitish foam mixed with an oily film. These characteristics have been repeated in several of the incidents recorded near the sea bass cages.
Debris carried by currents and waves has also been found on the sand , although it has not always been possible to directly link each occurrence to an organic spill. In one of the documented cases on Salinetas beach, analysis ruled out an organic origin and pointed to materials that would have arrived with a southerly storm and high tides coinciding with the full moon.
However, the most recent episodes are indeed related, according to initial assessments, to decomposing organic matter from de peces and with substances associated with fish farming. This type of pollution is of additional concern because it can affect marine life, alter water quality, and pose health risks if high concentrations persist near bathing areas.
Authorities have repeatedly collected samples of both the water and the visible waste in order to determine the exact composition of the stains and, from there, be able to define responsibilities and demand effective corrective measures.
At the same time, the presence of dead fish inside the cages and in their immediate surroundings reinforces the hypothesis that massive losses of specimens could be the origin of much of the organic pollution that has been observed since the end of last year.
City Council reactions and demands for explanations
The mayor of Telde, Juan Antonio Peña, has publicly expressed his concern about the environmental and health impact of these incidents. The city council insists that the situation cannot be addressed with temporary solutions alone and that the public has the right to know what is really happening along the coast.
Peña has repeatedly demanded the immediate appearance of the company responsible for the fish cages and the technical and political representatives of the Canary Islands Government. The mayor insists on a clear explanation of the causes of the oil spills, the reasons why they keep happening, and what specific measures are being implemented to prevent further spills.
The City Council emphasizes that it is not enough to simply clean up visible debris or reopen beaches after each positive analysis, as the recurrence of incidents in a relatively short period of time points to a structural problem in the management of aquaculture activity off the coast of Telde.
The council has also asked the relevant authorities to strengthen transparency, since, to this day, a definitive report detailing the exact origin of some of the most serious incidents has not yet been made public , despite the fact that bodies such as Seprona, the Public Prosecutor's Office and regional departments have been investigating for months.
In this context, Telde is trying to maintain a delicate balance between protecting public health and the image of its beaches, on the one hand, and not harming, without conclusive evidence, an economic sector that generates employment in the area, on the other.
The version of events presented by the aquaculture company and the ongoing investigations
The company that manages some of the sea cages has He categorically denied responsibility for the stains. detected off the coast of Telde Bay. Company spokespeople maintain that, although they too have observed a dark line in the water, it does not originate from the breeding facilities. de peces.
According to their account, the oil spill originated in the north and reached the Taliarte dock . The company claims to have photographs that, in their opinion, support this version of events. The company insists that it complies with current environmental regulations and that it has not experienced any internal incidents that could, on their own, explain the magnitude of the reported spill.
Despite these statements, the investigations remain open. Various agencies, including the Seprona (Nature Protection Service) of the Civil Guard, the Canary Islands Government's Ministry of Ecological Transition, and the Public Prosecutor's Office , are investigating the origin of this particularly serious incident in which more than 2.500 tons of sea bass died in the cages.
That disaster resulted in a large amount of decomposing organic matter ending up in the sea , triggering prolonged beach closures and restrictions in several bathing areas. Although inspections have been underway for some time, no definitive conclusions have yet been released regarding the ultimate causes of that mass die-off.
The lack of public results fuels a sense of uncertainty among the population and reinforces the pressure on the authorities to clarify whether there are failures in the controls or regulatory gaps that allow similar episodes to be repeated in the future.
The Citizens' Platform for a Clean Sea raises its voice
Meanwhile, the Telde Citizens' Platform for a Clean Sea has established itself as one of the most active groups denouncing what they consider a recurring and poorly managed problem. Its members have documented several oil slicks off the coast of Salinetas and in the direction of Taliarte, sending images and videos to local media outlets.
In one of their latest warnings, the group alerted authorities to a dark line visible from the coast , which, according to them, originated from the fish cages closest to the shore. The combination of southerly winds and the proximity of the facilities is believed to have carried the polluting film towards the beaches and the port area of ​​Taliarte.
The platform argues that the recurrence of these episodes, coupled with the mortality rate de peces recorded in the final stretch of last year, shows that Sea cages are incompatible with a coastline intended for bathing, leisure, and scientific research.Hence, their main demand is the definitive removal of the fattening facilities. de peces of Telde Bay.
In addition to mobilizing residents, the group insists that the authorities must act without further delay , rigorously investigating the source of each spill and establishing a clear timeline for dismantling the cages if their connection to the pollution is confirmed. They also denounce the lack of transparency and the absence of a coherent official account of what happened.
The members of the platform have announced that they will continue to document any visible damage along the coast , whether through photographs, videos, or direct notifications to the authorities. Their goal is to prevent such incidents from going unnoticed or being downplayed over time.
Drone inspections, police and technicians on the coast
The institutional response to the new oil spills has relied on a system that is becoming increasingly common on the Telde coastline: municipal technicians, the Local Police and the Drone Unit are deployed to the area as soon as a formal or citizen report of possible spills is received.
In the most recent inspections, the City Council has confirmed that police officers and specialized personnel are being sent to inspect both the coastline and the sea surface near the cages. When weather conditions permit, drones are deployed to obtain aerial images and better measure the extent and direction of the fish farms.
The use of these tools has allowed for more precise documentation of the evolution of the pollution , tracking the path of the oil slicks and verifying whether the debris is approaching the most popular bathing areas dangerously. The images are incorporated into the open files and sent to the relevant environmental and health authorities.
At the same time, regular water quality tests are carried out at strategic points in Melenara, Salinetas, and Taliarte. Based on the results of these tests, Public Health decides whether to maintain or lift the bathing restrictions, always in coordination with the City Council.
Although this surveillance system has improved the response capacity, many residents consider it to be a rather reactive response and demand stronger preventative measures to avoid having to close beaches every so often due to the appearance of new polluting patches.
The string of pollution incidents, temporary closures, reopenings, and new alerts has left Telde feeling trapped in a recurring cycle, with similar protagonists and questions still awaiting clear answers. Between the judicial investigation, the explanations demanded of the aquaculture company, and the pressure from local residents to remove the cages, the future of the aquaculture model off the Telde coast is at a critical juncture, with the quality of the sea and public trust at the heart of the debate.