GAIA Blocks Plans for Europe's Largest Salmon Farm

Brussels, 29/11/2024 – A major victory for animal welfare: GAIA has successfully put an end to the construction of a proposed intensive salmon farm in Ostend, major Belgian coastal city also know as “Queen of the Seaside Resorts”. The Council for Permit Disputes has ruled in GAIA’s favor, bringingthe project—which aimed to rear nearly three million salmon annually under awful conditions—to a definitive end.

GAIA President Michel Vandenbosch shared his delight: “I’m over the moon! We were completely vindicated!”

The environmental permit had previously been granted by Flemish Minister of Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA). In response, GAIA appealed to the Council for Permit Disputes, seeking to have the permit annulled—and the Council agreed with GAIA’s arguments. In a decisive move, the Council went even further: due to conflicts with land-use regulations, it ruled that the salmon farm cannot legally be approved at the proposed location. Instead of simply annulling the permit, the Council outright denied it, effectively closing the case and thus removing the decision from the regional Minister of Environment. 

Unacceptable Animal Cruelty

The proposed salmon farm by the Norwegian company Columbi Salmon planned to produce 2.9 million salmon annually under extreme overcrowding. In such intensive farming systems, the animals would be confined to tanks with up to 36 salmon per cubic meter. These fish—species that naturally migrate up to 3,000 km in the wild—would lose all opportunity to display their natural behaviors in captivity. The stress, overcrowding, and poor living conditions would result in over a quarter of the salmon being at risk of dying within the first year.

“I am extremely pleased with this ruling, but also relieved for everyone who genuinely cares about animal welfare,” said Michel Vandenbosch, President of GAIA.

Building on Previous Success
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This victory in Ostend builds on GAIA’s previous success against Salmon aquaculture. In 2023, GAIA already managed to halt a similar project in Baelen in the region of Wallonia in the South of Belgium which aimed to produce 300,000 salmon per year.
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