The County Council of Maresme in the region of Catalonia has approved a motion of censure against the hydrocarbon prospecting , known as FRACKING (hydraulic fracturing), in the Catalan coast, due to its environmental impact. This rejection joins the protest of various animal welfare, nature conservation and citizen organizations.

Recently The Spanish government published in the BOE (the daily Spanish-government publication) , the application of the company Capricorn Spain S. L. for hydrocarbon prospecting, based on seismic methods on more than one million hectares in the Catalan coast. Such methods produce, among other effect, a high and intolerable noise pollution for marine animals. It also involves risks to residents’ health and to the local economy.

Ngo ADDA is part of the group of organizations that have joined together to promote this motion and urge to revoke the permit applications to conduct investigations of hydrocarbons.

This kind of prospecting, which is cheaper than other, traditional methods, is only the first step in a long series of destructive operations against the marine environment and its biodiversity.