A representative for the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers could not guarantee a slimeless summer, despite booms being installed and fish farm operators agreeing to self-regulatory measures.
Summers over the years have been plagued with sea slime appearing along the coasts of areas such as Marsascala and Sliema.
This year’s slime had caused concern since it coincided with the start of the tuna feeding season. In 2016, tuna farms around the island were identified as the source of the widespread incidence of a similar, oily slime.
Federation secretary John Refalo, when pressed at to whether new mitigation measures could guarantee that slime would not crop up on shores said: “Our guarantee is that we will keep doing what we are doing and include better systems to minimise and reduce the waste of our product.”
“Incidents will happen no matter what you do,” Mr Refalo added.
The re-emergence of slime prompted a swift response from the fish farm operator lobby this year.
A visit to the site shows workers, as early as half past six in the morning, using a squeegee to push the slime in fish pens towards what is known as a “skimmer” – a device that collects and removes oil from…
