The Diplomat
The oil spill from the bulk carrier OS 35, which remains half sunk since the weekend in Gibraltar, has caused the closure of three of the four bivalve fishing grounds on the coast of La Linea and has left 32 fishing boats in port, according to the mayor of La Linea, Juan Franco.
In addition, the beach bars on the coast of La Linea have seen drastically reduced their turnover, so they will ask the City Council to advance the closure of the season to mitigate losses, added the alderman, picked up by the local press, after meeting with all the affected sectors. According to Franco, the direct damages are, for the moment, “minimal”, but the Levante beach bars “have already suffered a decline” and there has been “damage to the image of the quality of the product” fishing.
With regard to the complaint that prepares the City Council to demand accountability, Franco said that the council remains “in contact with the Andalusian Government, the Government of Spain and Gibraltar to prepare the complaint” and stressed “the goodwill of all parties to preserve the environment. Despite this, he warned, “we want to preserve our rights” and, therefore, “we will file the complaint”, a complaint “open so that the affected groups can join”. He also assured that maintains direct information with Gibraltar every two hours and will be reporting directly to the sectors involved of the new news that will be arriving on the OS 35.
