Activists said on Friday they expected Environment minister Miriam Dalli to shoulder political responsibility over stench and sewage leaks allegedly caused by a tuna recycling plant in Ħal Far, unless the authorities within her remit took action over the matter.

The factory is operated by Aquaculture Resources Limited, a company jointly set up by Malta’s largest tuna ranchers to process excess tuna into ingredients that can be sold on export.

Activists and residents have complained that an “unbearable stench,” has taken hold of Birżebbuġa and the Ħal Far industrial estate since the factory began operating.

Aquaculture is insisting that the Ħal Far plant is not responsible for any smells in the area and that inspectors had never reported a stench in any of their 60 inspections since October. Its CEO, Charlon Gouder has said any Birżebbuġa resident who believes that the plant is causing the foul smells should visit the factory and smell it for themselves.

Following weeks of tensions, demonstrators took to the streets of Birżebbuġa on Saturday morning to voice their discontent and demand that the plant is closed down until a solution to the stench can be found.  

Nearly a week later, Għaqda Storja u Kultura Birżebbuġa and Moviment Graffitti wrote a second letter to Dalli.

In the letter they say that no visit organised by the company will reassure people.

"If someone tries to imply that the strong smells of dead fish, which started right when the tuna factory started operating over two months ago, are not actually a result of this factory, they would just be insulting the intelligence of the people.

"It is neither the task of the residents, nor of the organisations nor of the journalists to find and address the reasons that are causing the factory to emit these smells. This is only a task of the company and the authorities concerned. Residents and workers, however, have the right not to suffer from this stench until a solution is found."

They said should the authorities under Dalli’s ministry fail to halt the operation of the company until the smells stopped, the minister and those who allowed the situation to continue for so long will have to shoulder political responsibility.