Watch: Slime returns to Sliema’s coast, fish farm operators blame storm run-off
The rain washed organic matter into the sea, aquaculture producers' representative says, but staff have been deployed to clean it up
Sea slime returned to Sliema’s coast on Tuesday but fish farm operators said it could have been run-off from Saturday's storm.
An oily substance could be seen on the surface of the sea along Tower Road near Għar id-Dud. A Sliema resident who uploaded a video described it as having a "fishy" smell and said that the slime was making its way towards Qui-si-sana.
On Saturday, fish farm operators took responsibility and apologised for slime that blighted Malta's eastern coast in the previous few days. The apology came after Times of Malta visited a tuna farm between Malta and Gozo and found two fish farm workers trying to contain slime from the farm.
However, on Tuesday, Maltese Aquaculture Producers Federation CEO Charlon Gouder would not say whether the slime came from fish farms.
"It is a mixture of organic matter that includes slime, fuel and other dirt. Keep in mind that we had some rainfall during the weekend which washed organic matter into the sea," he said.
Gouder said that the federation has also spotted "sea foam" along other parts of Malta's coast and sent crews out to clean it up.
There were no reports of slime in St Paul's Bay on Tuesday, despite it having been the worst affected last week.
After last week's slime the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) ordered tuna farms to deploy six vessels to clean it up.