The Galician bateeiro sector mobilises against the Altri pulp mill in the Arousa estuary

• They reaffirm their rejection to the implementation of this project and will participate massively in the demonstration on Saturday in A Pobra.

Vilagarcía de Arousa, 21 March 2025 – A large part of the Galician bateeiro sector has already confirmed its participation in the demonstration called in the Arousa estuary against the installation of the Altri pulp mill. ‘From the first moment we have expressed our outright rejection of this project, which poses a direct threat to our way of life and the sustainability of the estuary,’ they say.
The concern of the bateiro sector is due to the impact that the Altri plant could have on the quality of the water in the Arousa estuary. The factory, located in Palas de Rei, intends to capture up to 46,000 cubic metres of water daily from the river Ulla and return 30,000 cubic metres of treated wastewater. Given that the Ulla flows into the Arousa estuary, the discharge of this water could seriously affect the marine ecosystem, endangering water quality and shellfish and bateeira production. Despite the environmental approval by the Xunta de Galicia, the shellfish and ecological sector continues to express its concern about the possible irreversible damage that this could cause.

The Arousa estuary is a fundamental ecosystem for mussel production and a key economic engine for Galicia. The concentration of polluting industries in this area would put at risk the quality of our waters and the viability of a sector that employs thousands of families: ‘We will not allow industrial pressure to intensify in such a fragile and essential space for our activity’, say the sector.
Therefore, they call on the whole of society to join this mobilisation in defence of the estuary and of a production model that has proven to be sustainable and a generator of wealth. The batteiro sector demands, as it has been doing for years, an economic development that respects the environmental balance of Galicia.