Fez – Spain has expressed a change in its position concerning Morocco’s fish farm in the Chafarinas, off the Mediterranean, according to Spanish outlet Elfaro De Melilla.
In a parliamentary response to the People’s Party deputy to Melilla, Fernando Gutierrez Diaz de Otazu, Spain’s left-wing coalition executive said that aquaculture farms are part of the autonomous regions’ responsibility.
The parliamentary response affirms Spain’s inability to discuss the removal of Morocco’s fish farms which are installed 700 meters from the Chafarinas Islands.
The executive suggests that these facilities depend on the management of autonomous communities as they are the ones with competence in aquaculture.
“Neither the Chafarinas Islands nor Alhucemas or Vélez de la Gomera is attached to an autonomous community,” he said, further explaining that this is “due to the fact that there is a legal vacuum around these Spanish military facilities.”
The Spanish official questioned Melilla’s competence to negotiate the issue with Morocco, noting that the fish farms “are not under the supervision of the Delegation of the Government of Melilla.”
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Spain’s parliamentary response is a shift from its previously expressed position towards Morocco’s fish farm in the Chafarinas Islet. In November, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a note to the Moroccan ambassador in Spain to protest Morocco’s installation of the aquafarm.
The note came as the two countries were negotiating to mend their recent months-long diplomatic rift. Spain went so far as to solidify its military presence in the islets, with military officials claiming they were seeking to improve the quality of life of Spanish troops stationed in Chafarinas.
Most recently, Spanish officials have vowed to mend diplomatic relations with Morocco after months of tensions over the migration crisis in Ceuta and the diplomatic slight of Spain in sheltering Brahim Ghali, the leader of the separatist Polisario Front.
