'Slime' off Marsascala coast is foam, fish farm industry and ERA say
Latest appearance comes days after four tuna farms were fined
Large patches of what appeared to be slime were spotted along the coast of Marsascala on Sunday but a spokesperson for the fishfarm industry said it was just foam. The Environment and Resources Authority also said it was foam.
A resident of the town who alerted Times of Malta said the biggest patches of 'slime' were in the sea off the former Jerma Palace Hotel.
The long patches could be seen both inside and outside swimming zones.
However, Charlon Gouder, CEO of Maltese Aquaculture Producers Federation said the substance was foam and not slime, while providing a video from a boat passing through the area.
The Environment and Resource Authority later also confirmed that the substance was foam.
On Friday, Times of Malta revealed that the Environment and Resources Authority had fined four tuna farms a total of €14,000 for causing fish slime that has plagued the eastern coastline this summer.
ERA declined to name the tuna farms, while it also remains unclear how the fines were distributed among them.
Martin Bugelli, a fisherman and former head of the European Commission Representation in Malta, who publicly accused the fish farms of causing the slime, called the fine “insignificant”.
When oily residue was first spotted in August, fish farm operators – through the Maltese Aquaculture Producers Federation – stopped short of assuming responsibility for the slime, saying that the patches were “not necessarily fish slime”.
Fish farm operators did not admit responsibility even when ERA announced it ordered tuna farms to deploy six cleaning vessels to remove sea slime.
But the source was clearer than ever when Times of Malta visited a tuna farm off St Paul’s Bay, on Bugelli’s boat, and found workers trying to contain fish slime before it drifted towards the coast.
Bugelli had said that the slime was a result of poor feeding practices as tuna farm operators were throwing the bait feed in open water before draining them of oil.
Following this, the fish farm operators took responsibility, apologised and pledged “more investment” to prevent recurrence.