Fishermen Win Legal Struggle

The Edirne Administrative Court gave a positive decision about the trial opened on 7 December objecting the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (ÇED). The report was issued in the context of a harbour construction. The Limanköy Fishermen Cooperative indicated that the construction of the harbour would change the region to an industrial area, which would be a disaster for the people who are making a living from nature.

It was planned to fill in an area of 60 acres and to build a 700 metre pier for loading and unloading in the Gulf of İğneada. The construction was intended to bring in slack and to remove goods from the Traçim cement factory. The construction of the factory was started in 2007 in the district of Vize, belonging to the Kırklareli province.

The Gulf of İğneada is an important hunting area and also an important area for fish in a biological context. The fishermen argued that the region would have been changed into an industrial area with loading and unloading 120,000 trucks of cement and slack per year.

In recent years, the cooperative focused on protection and development projects in the İğneada district and the National Park on the outskirts or the Yıldız Mountains. Furthermore, the region is Europe's largest mangrove forest and thus also a focal point for touristic development.

These are the objections put forward from the Limanköy Fishermen Cooperative against the ÇED report:

* A detailed calculation of air pollution caused by transportation, loading and unloading operation was not done.

* The crucial damage to the ecosystem caused by filling in the coast was ignored in the report.

* No assessment was done related to the sea fish.

* The sea meadows are among the most important sea floor habitats which have to be protected according to international agreements. The sea meadows in the gulf would be severely damaged by the construction.

* The ÇED report is absolutely insufficient in terms of the sea. It does not provide any assessment regarding the impact on biodiversity by the filling.

* Ship accidents are not accounted as supposed dangers because of countermeasures taken. In fact, oil spill has a negative impact on sea life and it is a constant threat in all harbours.

* No information was given on the material used for the filling, probably in order to avoid negative reactions. (İP/VK)