The landscape shapes and transforms us.

The natural environment is like a part of ourselves that sustains us—physically and spiritually.

We are intimately connected to it, and perceive this clearly, both individually and collectively.

Therefore, we are dealing with a shared heritage, and as such, we must consider what it means for each of us: a set of rights, but also responsibilities.

Those of us who, by birth or for other reasons, live in the Empordà are aware that the plain, the ridges, the forests, the sea, the cliffs, the vineyards, the olive groves, the wetlands, the meadows, the rivers, the colors and scents that define them… have shaped our physical and sensorial understanding of space.

All of this becomes so integrated within us that it becomes inseparable from our own being—so much so that when this natural and scenic heritage suffers harm, we ourselves feel wounded.

The following text provides objective data on an ongoing assault on a river: the Fluvià. Our Fluvià.

With this brief summary, we trace part of the history over nearly 40 years of a specific point on the river: its mouth.

In this story, as in all stories, we find characters. There are speculators, opportunists, public officials, the indifferent… and fighters.

We—the fighters—show, through our perseverance, that we truly embrace the river as our own, individually and collectively, and so defend it as both a personal and a shared heritage.

It is our steadfast belief that, even though we cannot go back and change the circumstances of this unfortunate story, we can start again from the present — and do so as many times as necessary — to give it a worthy ending.

An ending that satisfies the growing desire for respect, harmony and balance with our environment. This is our fight.

Since summer 2021, the company Canales del Fluvià Nàutic SL has been privatizing the public path of El Joncar, which since 1970 had allowed access to the Fluvià River mouth and its beach

References for more information:

-Judicial ruling no. 220/15: (www IAEDEN http://ca.santpere.cat/upload/sentencia_381.14_CAMI_PUBLIC.pdf )

-On March 27, 2024, the Town Council of Sant Pere Pescador agreed to recover the Joncar path and remove the barrier.

In 2003, the Government of Catalonia classified the Fluvià Nàutic area as NON-DEVELOPABLE LAND, and since 2010, as part of the Natura 2000 Network, it has been included in the Special Protection Plan for Natural Interest.

In 2009, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, and in 2012 the Spanish Supreme Court, confirmed its classification as NON-DEVELOPABLE LAND.

In this area, partially urbanized since the 1980s, there is only the skeleton of a building that poses a public hazard. Due to disagreements among developers, the construction was never completed and no further initiatives were undertaken.

References for more information:

-Video explaining the historical background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrZTx_PbaU

-2009 High Court ruling: (STSJ_CAT_5044_2009 Fluvianautic)

-2012 Supreme Court ruling: (STS_8458_2012 TS Fluvianautic )

Canales del Fluvià Nàutic SL began operations in November 2011. A month later, it purchased property registry no. 1362, and in 2013 acquired other private properties. According to the Land Registry, 58% is in the name of Canales, while the remaining 42% is registered to the Town Council of Sant Pere Pescador, the Government of Catalonia, and Incasol.

Photos: New Jersey barriers placed on plot 317 (owned by the Government of Catalonia) and on Incasol-owned land, Easter 2025

References for more information:

-Generalitat response (re: plots 316 and 317) (contesta generalitat parcel.les 316 i 317_)

-Incasol response 2024 Incasol: (contesta Incasol 2024)

-Informative notes from the Land Registry (Notes info)

Fluvià Nàutic, now called Port Natura, has no authorization to operate a beach bar nor to rent surfing or kayaking equipment.

Photos from April 2025 show the dismantling of part of the beach bar. Surfboards and kayaks are currently being rented.

In June 2012, Fluvià Nàutic received a concession for the surface water inside the canals, limited to the uses permitted in 1988. The concession does not allow docking, nor the rental of jet skis, surfboards, or kayaks.

Without any permits, the developer added new structures, cut vegetation, and leveled land, destroying the natural environment. They have also threatened and obstructed inspections by rural officers and other authorities.

La Generalitat, el 7 de juliol del 2023, imposa a Canales del Fluvià Nàutic SL dues infraccions greus i una lleu, una multa de 31.246 € i li dona 8 dies per aturar les obres, suspendre les activitats i retirar les instal·lacions fixes i desmuntables. Malgrat tot, fa cas omís i rep dues multes més tot advertint-li que es durà a terme l’execució subsidiària. A hores d’ara, veiem que els new jersey, el pantalà, el lloguer d’activitats i l’aparcament d’autocaravanes continuen.

On July 7, 2023, the Catalan Government fined Canales del Fluvià Nàutic SL for two serious violations and one minor, amounting to €31,246. They were given 8 days to stop the works, suspend activities, and remove all fixed and mobile installations.

Despite this, the company ignored the order and received two more fines, with a warning of enforced execution. As of now, New Jersey barriers, docks, rental services, and the camper van parking area are still operating.

In 2024, the Town Council ordered the closure of the camper van parking, sealed it, and installed a height barrier. It was immediately broken, and the site remained open.

During Easter 2025, around 200 camper vans were observed. Some users said they didn’t care about the site’s illegality and preferred the cheaper price and quiet natural setting over a regular campsite.

On April 20, 2024, Diari ARA published the article:

 “The controversial private business that blocks access to the natural site at the mouth of the Fluvià”

The company’s administrator demanded a retraction, but the editorial staff refused. The judge in Figueres ruled in favor of ARA.

-Article: https://www.ara.cat/societat/polemic-negoci-privat-veta-l-acces-paratge-natural-gola-fluvia_1_5002690.html?giveAway=DWQGZYM91PjEB2LO

-Court ruling in favor of ARA: : (Sentencia ARA 11. Stc )

In summer 2024, the Ombudsman of Catalonia published a resolution calling on the Town Council of Sant Pere Pescador and the Catalan Government to shut down unauthorized activities at Fluvià Nàutic.

References for more information:

-Press note: https://www.sindic.cat/ca/page.asp?id=53&ui=10358

-Full resolution: (Resolucio sindic)

In April 2025, the Provincial Council of Girona unanimously passed a motion against the illegal occupation of maritime-terrestrial public domain at Fluvià Nàutic, denouncing unauthorized activities and calling for renaturalization of the area.

References for more information:

-Instagram post:  https://x.com/DiputacioGirona/status/1914658086322663910?t=fxINvefP6Zv2j8yy-O19NQ&s=09

A ministerial order from October 2001 approved the delimitation of maritime-terrestrial public domain from Rec Sirvent to the Fluvià River along 3,800 meters. At that time, the protection buffer was 20 meters wide, with a 6-meter transit strip. In 2003, the land became NON-DEVELOPABLE, expanding the protection buffer to 100 meters.

Currently, the Ministry for Ecological Transition is updating this demarcation between coordinates N-4 to N-15 and N-85 to N-90.

References for more information:

-Ministry viewer: https://sig.mapama.gob.es/dpmt/

The Government of Catalonia has not granted any port permit in this area, which is part of the Natura 2000 network and a protected zone. The Town Council has not authorized any of the business activities, which are incompatible with the land’s planning classification.

Moreover, the area is flood-prone and adjacent to the Aiguamolls Natural Park.

Yet the AUTHORITIES, who demand permits and approvals from the rest of us, claim in this case that “IT IS A JUDICIAL MATTER” and do not shut down a private business that has no authorization.

Meanwhile, the company continues—and will continue—filing claims, appeals, and objections to delay the process, which has been economically beneficial to them since summer 2021, profiting off public domain and natural heritage that belongs, in part, to all of us.

The Group for the Defense of the Fluvià Mouth and IAEDEN–Salvem l’Empordà, in line with the 2024 resolution by the Ombudsman, demand that the AUTHORITIES—by law—immediately and subsidiarily enforce their procedures to:

• Recover the public path of El Joncar

• Shut down the unauthorized economic activities at Fluvià Nàutic

• Expropriate the area and integrate it into the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà Natural Park

CLARIFICATION: The Gola group and IAEDEN–Salvem l’Empordà have as their primary goal to engage in dialogue with the AUTHORITIES in order to ensure that the existing laws—which apply to all of us—are properly enforced.

Sant Pere Pescador, juny 2025