OPMEGA CALLS ON THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT TO ACT QUICKLY TO CLARIFY THE IMPACT OF STORMS ON MUSSEL PRODUCTION IN THE AROUSA ESTUARY

The Galician Mussel Producers’ Organisation conveyed the concerns of producers to the Director General of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Technological Innovation and questioned the awarding of the longline system without prior consultation.

Vilagarcía de Arousa, 4 March 2026. The Opmega board held a meeting with the Director General of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Technological Innovation of the Regional Ministry of the Sea, Isaac Miguel Rosón Sánchez-Brunete, in which they discussed various issues of interest to the organisation’s members and the current situation in the mussel sector.

During the meeting, the organisation conveyed to the administration its concern about what is happening in the mussel beds of the Arousa estuary, a concern that producers have been communicating to the regional government for weeks in view of the developments taking place in the sea and the consequences that this situation is already having on production.

Among the issues discussed, Opmega also referred to the awarding of the long line system by the Regional Ministry of the Sea without prior consultation with producers, a decision which, according to the organisation’s representatives, has caused concern as it is an issue that directly affects the activity and should have been discussed beforehand with the representative organisations of the sector.

 

In addition, the organisation called on the regional government to publish as soon as possible the report on the impact that the increase in freshwater entering the sea as a result of the recent series of storms may be having, an issue of particular concern to producers due to its possible impact on mussel beds.
For his part, the director general reported during the meeting that the Mussel Committee will meet during the month of March, although no specific date has been set at this time.
The president of Opmega, Ricardo Herbón, stressed the importance of maintaining fluid communication with the administration in order to address the challenges facing the industry and move forward with solutions that respond to producers’ concerns.