French state services began removing the wreckage of a defunct fish farm off Cagnes-sur-Mer in late June, after the site's former operator failed to comply with a court order to clear it himself.
The Alpes-Maritimes' maritime and territorial authority, the DDTM, is overseeing the operation at the former Lou Loubas II fish farm, roughly 360 metres offshore. Divers working for the firm Mare Nostrum are extracting around 50 tonnes of material, including fourteen three tonne concrete moorings, cables and netting, all destined for recycling. The job is expected to cost around 100,000 euros and take about a month.
The Nice administrative court fined the operating company, SARL Lou Loubas, 1,200 euros in a June 2025 ruling, and ordered it to restore the site within six months. The court warned that the state would carry out the work at the company's expense if it failed to act.
When the state dismantled visible surface debris from a neighbouring former farm site in January 2025, the ex-operator, known locally as "Loulou," disputed the state's characterisation of the material as pollution, comparing it to structures used deliberately to create artificial reefs. The DDTM has maintained the site is simply the remains of a defunct commercial operation, not a planned habitat structure.