The allocation of public funds for coastal development in the Canary Islands archipelago is consolidating the dominance of the aquaculture industry over traditional inshore fishing sectors. The provisional resolution issued by the Deputy Ministry of the Primary Sector of the Canary Islands Government for the early call for applications to the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFF) reveals a redistribution of financial flows where large-scale corporations, with Aquanaria at the forefront, are capturing the bulk of the funds intended to incentivize a sustainable blue economy. The process, channeled through the Local Action Group for Fisheries and Aquaculture (GALPA) Gran Canaria Coastal Action Group, has mobilized a final total of €251.646,33, highlighting the capital absorption gap between industrial and artisanal sectors. Residents of southeastern Gran Canaria and Telde blame Aquanaria for alleged sanitation problems in its production cages.
The budget structure approved by Deputy Minister Eduardo García Cabello outlines the deployment of capital across two fixed fiscal years. The first tranche allocates €121.225,28 for the current fiscal year, while the remaining €130.421,06 are formally committed in the balance sheet of the following period. The technical co-financing scheme stipulates that the European Union covers 70% of eligible expenditure through the FEMPA (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund), requiring the Canary Islands Autonomous Community to cover the remaining 30% using its own funds. Investments classified as purely productive receive standard public funding of 60%, a percentage that increases substantially to 85% or 100% when the managing body certifies an innovative nature at the local level or a direct benefit for the fishermen's associations.
Optimizing public funds required altering the initial balances projected in the Participatory Local Development Strategy (PLDS). The GALPA Board of Directors, meeting on April 22, activated internal transfer mechanisms to reallocate surplus funds from action lines with lower demand to those with eligible high-cost projects. This accounting maneuver directly benefited Action Line 2—focused on diversification and job creation in the fishing area—which absorbed a cumulative total of €136.747,20, overshadowing the marginal allocations for environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation, which remained frozen at a mere €11.759,14.
Aquanaria's and the other recipients' access to public credit required a rigorous regulatory risk assessment. The Fisheries Inspection Service and the FEMPA Management Audit certified the complete absence of prior infringements of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), while the Central Criminal Records Registry validated the lack of criminal records for the applicant boards of directors. A critical aspect of the forensic examination focused on the National Grants Database (BDNS) to monitor compliance with the rules for accumulating state incentives; EU regulations prohibit exceeding €300.000,00 per promoting entity over a three-year period under the de minimis aid regulation, acting as a technical barrier for corporations with multiple investment projects along the Spanish coast.
The transfer of funds is subject to a strict timeline that penalizes operational delays during the technical execution phases. Beneficiaries of the current budget allocation have until November 10th to carry out the subsidized activity, and must register all invoices and supporting documentation before November 20th. For the subsequent period, the activity must be completed by October 15th and its accounting validation by October 30th. The procedure allows for the option of requesting advance payments if companies demonstrate cash flow problems that prevent the start of construction without the prior injection of institutional funds. Furthermore, firms with allocations exceeding €30.000,00 must provide documentary evidence of their full compliance with the law against late payments in their ordinary commercial transactions.
The control of European financial flows extends beyond the final payment certification. EU regulations governing the EMFF (European Fund for Fisheries and Aquaculture) impose a safeguard clause that obliges companies to maintain their investments and eligibility conditions for a five-year period following final settlement. If infringements or substantial variations in fixed assets are detected during random ex-post inspections, the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty will activate automatic repayment protocols supported by the financial rules of the EU general budget, demanding the full repayment of the indexed capital.
