Fishermen warn of the "natural disaster" caused by the dam: "Without water quality, the Albufera dies"

Nia Escolà / Arnau Martínez/El Palmar - The Albufera is one of the most important wetlands in the Valencian Country. With an extension of more than 21,000 hectares, the rivers of the area affected by the flood flow here. The fishing sector, one of the most important activities, is concerned about the quality of the water and warns of the "ecological disaster" caused by the cold drop. "The Albufera has been like a sponge that has collected all the waste", the secretary of the Fishermen's Community of El Palmar, Amparo Aleixandre, explains to ACN. And he warns: "Without a good quantity and quality of water, the life of the Albufera comes to an end". For this reason, it demands that the recovery of the wetland be started. At the moment, fishing activity is completely stopped and the ban on eels is considered lost.

The fishermen of the Albufera do not go out fishing from Paso de la Dana. They offered their boats and collaborated with the emergency services in the search for missing people in the area. They didn't find anyone, but they did find a large accumulation of waste that ended up here.

They are clear that the most important thing is to respond to the social emergency, but they warn that the natural emergency must not be neglected. "There has been an environmental disaster here and we need to start cleaning the Albufera if we don't want this natural catastrophe to get worse," he warns.

Declared a Natural Park in 1986, the Albufera is an internationally recognized wetland for its fauna and flora, especially as a habitat for waterfowl.

The life of the eel, lost

The eel ban should have started on November 1, but it hasn't. Although the period extends until April 30, fishermen are already giving it up. "I'll be pessimistic, but I don't think this year will be an eel fishing season," emphasizes Amparo Aleixandre.

At the moment, they are awaiting the results of the analyzes that have been carried out to check the quality of the water. They have caught a single eel since the incident and now want to check what their conditions are.

Effects on rice fields

Albufera rice farmers are also "concerned" about the effects that the storm may have on the rice fields. The floods of October 29 denied water to some electrical installations that serve to pump water. Some ditches have also become unusable. It affects us to keep the facilities clean. José Rodrigo, a rice farmer in Albufera, comments that for the moment they will have to "clean up all the remains that have come from the landfills and the towns".

This year's harvest has already been harvested and they are awaiting water quality measurements. "All of this is an ecosystem, maybe in next year's campaign it will affect our cultivation", admits Rodrigo.