It is located on an island in the Guadalquivir river, 10 miles (16 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean in Seville province of Spain.
Isla Mayor, as the "nerve centre" of the marshlands (Las Marismas) of the lower Guadalquivir, has seen a long process of transformation over time due to both the natural evolution caused by silting and the effects of human activity.
In 1982, the Empresa Agropecuaria del Guadalquivir, owner of the estate since 1966, was acquired by the Hisparroz, the leading Spanish company in rice seed production.
After a brief introductory period, in 1990 a subsidiary Pesquerías Isla Mayor SL (PIMSA) was authorised by General Directorate for Fisheries of the Andalusian Regional Government, following the Rector Plan for the Use and Management of the Doñana National Park (PRUG), to introduce fish farming to the area.
These were flooded with high quality waters which provided a habitat to the significant population of fish and crustaceans which reared on the farm.
The total bird population of Veta la Palma can reach a figure of 600,000 covering some 250 different species, of which some 50 suffer some degree of threat in other areas.