Spain - February 17, 2025 Spain's Galicia region has seen a catastrophic drop in shellfish output due to climate change and pollution, raising concerns over the future of the industry among fish farmers. Galicia is Europe's biggest shellfish provider and second in the world only to China, boasting fine natural conditions for shellfish industry, such as the Arousa estuary, where local farmers put up unique platforms made from eucalyptus wood to cultivate mussels. However, the waters have continued to shrink in the region in recent years, while an increasing amount of pollutants are being discharged into the sea. The mussel production fell to 178,000 tonnes in 2024, the lowest in 25 years, down from 250,000 tonnes in 2021. The situation on the Compostela Beach, where women workers seed and harvest the famous Carril clams along the shoreline, is as dire as the Arousa estuary. "When I started my work, there were 97 people working here and now there are only 59 of us left. The solution is to do a proper study on what's happening to the sea, because it's obvious that climate change is already here. Not that it's coming, it's already here, but there is also a lot of pollution. I don't want to lose this tradition. My mother started working at nine years old, and she retired at sea. My grandparents retired at sea, too, but it's looking very unlikely that I'll be able to do the same," said Maria Porto, president of Carril Women's Fishers Association. Some shellfish stocks have fallen by 90 percent in just a few years, disastrous for the more than 22,000 people employed in the industry. Shotlist: Galicia, Spain - Feb 17, 2025: 1. Fish farm; 2. Various of fish farmers working, hauling mussels out of water, picking mussels; 3. Various of platforms for mussel cultivation; 4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alredo Otero, mussel cultivator (partially overlaid with shot 5): "We are extremely worried. The Galician sea, as we know, is disappearing. If we keep going like this, then in five years, everything will be gone. Climate change is affecting everything, and even the winds are not the same. The entire dynamic of the river is changing. Then, there's the pollution, such as vineyard run-off and industrial waste from aluminum factories."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 5. Various of fish farm, ships, mussel cultivation platforms, mussels; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 6. Various of farmers, machines working, mussels being moved; 7. Various of women workers seeding, harvesting clams on beach; 8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Maria Porto, president, Carril Women's Fishers Association (partially overlaid with shot 9): "When I started my work, there were 97 people working here and now there are only 59 of us left. The solution is to do a proper study on what's happening to the sea, because it's obvious that climate change is already here. Not that it's coming, it's already here, but there is also a lot of pollution. I don't want to lose this tradition. My mother started working at nine years old, and she retired at sea. My grandparents retired at sea, too, but it's looking very unlikely that I'll be able to do the same."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 9. Various of women workers seeding, harvesting clams; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 10. Various of women workers, clams. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]