Aquaculture operators said this morning that the sludge appearing in bays is due to a new feed for tuna which was brought in.

"The problem was too late for us to act," Secretary of the Malta Aquaculture producers Federation Dr John Refalo said. He explained that they recently changed supplier.

The feed consists of smaller fish eaten by Tuna, and the operators argued that the fish was cleaned the same way as was done in previous years before being put into the cages and fed to the Tuna. The operators said that the situation will not repeat itself. The issue, Dr Refalo explained, was that the fish had more oil than usual.

Swimmers have previously said that slime was noted in various bays around the Maltese islands, and the Environment Ministry had commissioned a report. The government had said that while fish farming was an important industry, polluting the sea was "unacceptable".

The operators have also committed themselves to relocating further offshore.

The proposed relocation site is to the South East of the island would be 6km off the coast. This site, however, is too small and the operators are hesitant about moving there. They would prefer having a larger site or perhaps more than one site. They argued that the fish-farms would be very close together, and if, for example, there is an oil spill, they would all be effected. They refused to say whether, if no agreement can be found on another site they would remain operating in Malta or move abroad, saying they will take it step by step.

The move to the new site, they argued, would take up until mid-June, adding that it would be impossible to move in just three weeks.

Operators from four tuna fish farms were recently served with an emergency enforcement order. The enforcement orders require that, with immediate effect, the operators will comply with all the conditions stipulated in their respective planning permits, the PA said. This includes both the number of structures and the operations of the fish farms. By next Monday 5 September, the operators each need to present a method statement on how they will be addressing the illegalities and how they will be removing them within a specified reasonable period.

The authority made it clear with the operators that the way they are operating their tuna fish farms today is totally unacceptable and negatively impacting the coastal bathing water, which is enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. Two of the tuna fish farms are located in the north part of the island, close to Comino and is-Sikka l-Bajda, off San Pawl il-Baħar and another two are located off the Marsaxlokk area. The fish farm operators said that they will be presenting their plans shortly.   

The fish farms provide up to 1,000 jobs around the island Dr Refalo said, adding that they do want to remain in Malta. Operators also request that minimum standards for the industry be set up, which would include an exclusion zone of around 150-250m around farms.

Turning to the irregularities regarding cages, the operators said that the amount of tuna within the fish farms are below the quota allowed via EU law, however did highlight the problem of cages.

Dr Refalo explained that the regulations introduced over the past years, mean that tuna coming from different groups cannot be put into the same cage, and as a result more cages are needed.

They also indicated the need for a single regulator, stating that to get anything done they currently need to go to the Planning Authority, the Department of Fisheries, Transport Malta and the Lands Department.