The highly contested project of the company Pure Salmon to install a giant salmon farm in Gironde has just obtained the green light from the State. Around ten NGOs will soon file a contentious appeal before the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal.

Published on: 08/04/2026 - 3:35 p.m. Modified on: 08/04/2026 - 10:12 p.m.

The establishment of a mega salmon farm in Gironde, on an unprecedented scale in France with up to 10,000 tonnes produced per year, was authorized by the State "within a strict environmental framework", while residents, NGOs and parliamentarians oppose the project.

This 280 million euro project carried out by the company Pure Salmon, financed by a Singaporean investment fund, "presents a great economic and industrial interest for the territory", justified the prefect of Gironde, Sophie Brocas on Tuesday.

See also Scotland: the other side of intensive salmon farming

It “responds to several issues of general interest: the reconversion of an industrial-port wasteland at the tip of the Médoc, the creation of 250 direct jobs and the production on the national territory of the fish most consumed by the French, and currently 99% imported,” detailed the State representative.

While French marine aquaculture represented in 2024 only 5,807 tonnes of fish, all species combined, according to Ifremer, the Gironde project targets 10,000 tonnes of salmon per year, which makes it the most important within the European Union, according to Pure Salmon. But production reaches 12,000 tonnes per year in Norway, specifies the company.

This land-based salmon farming factory, in a closed circuit, must be built on 14 hectares in Verdon-sur-Mer, at the end of the Gironde estuary, from 2027.

The environmental authorization "is accompanied by particularly demanding environmental requirements which will govern both the work phase and the operation of the installation" and will be subject to "permanent control", affirms the prefecture. She cites in particular "the protection of water resources and aquatic environments", "the quality of aqueous discharges into the natural environment", "the preservation of biodiversity and protected species" or even "the management of odors and limitation of light emissions".

Read alsoIn Norway, farmed salmon, the first danger for its wild brother

“Change of scale”

The technology used is based on a water recirculation system, “RAS”. It is “adopted by more and more fish producing countries and recognized as being the most virtuous in terms of the volumes of water necessary for the operation of this type of installation”, assures the prefecture.

But if the principles of recirculating aquaculture "are now well established", projects of this size constitute a "change of scale" with still few "operational references" in the world, pointed out Ifremer in a note published in March.

Judging the environmental risks to be too great, several hundred opponents demonstrated in January at the location, on the eve of the closing of the public inquiry which recorded more than 20,000 contributions, almost all of which were unfavorable.

The public inquiry commission, for its part, issued a favorable opinion in March, like the Departmental Council for the Environment and Health and Technological Risks (Coderst) a month ago.

Also read: The activist who denounces the excesses of the Scottish salmon industry

Proposal for a moratorium

A bill supported by around a hundred deputies, tabled in 2025 but which has not been examined since in the National Assembly, calls for a ten-year moratorium on these salmon factory farms.

In an Appeal for the Ocean, 27 NGOs also denounced a "completely disproportionate" project which would threaten the ecosystem of the largest and wildest estuary in Europe with discharges of sludge, to the detriment of fishing and shellfish farming.

During the public inquiry, the local water commission, the BRGM and the scientific council of the estuary, opposed to the project, pointed out a lack of information behind the "reassuring statements".

The Pure Salmon company assures that its “proven technology” guarantees “a controlled impact on biodiversity”, that “animal welfare is at the heart of the project” and that its supply complies with “strict standards”, ensuring “responsible and traceable” food for the salmon.

“Smoke”, sweep away the opponents, who announce that around ten NGOs will soon file a contentious appeal before the administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux.

The project was also divided within the government. The Minister of Ecological Transition, Monique Barbut, opposed it “in a personal capacity” during a Senate hearing in April. “There is no reason why it should not be done,” replied his Industry colleague, Sébastien Martin, during a trip to Gironde in June.

In Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), a similar project by the Swiss company Local Ocean has been authorized since 2024 but is facing administrative appeals, while the Norwegian Smart Salmon has given up on setting up near Guingamp (Côtes-d'Armor) in the face of local opposition.

With AFP

Keywords associated with the article

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.