No sooner did sea slime make its way to the Maltese coastline than a consortium of fish farms pledged to introduce measures to nip the problem in the bud.

The Maltese Federation of Aquaculture said in a statement that four fish farm operators – AJD Tuna, Fish and Fish, Malta Mariculture and MFF – have signed a deal to establish a common set of standards on combating sea slime applicable from now till the end of October.

These include placing booms by each fish cage to instantly collect oily slime and assigning a skimmer boat to each pen to monitor the waste generated. The fish farms will also pay for two boats to patrol the coast and pick up any marine waste and will set up a joint call centre to receive complaints from the public.

A fifth operator – Mareblu – did not sign up to the deal.

“The Maltese tuna ranching industry has been contributing to the economy for many years now,” the Federation’s spokesperson John Refalo said. “Having heard the public’s complaints and the government’s calls, we have decided to self-regulate even more.”

The fish farm owners signed the agreement in Tokyo, where they are currently on a trade delegation along with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

“Discussed with industry need to improve environmental standards,” Muscat tweeted. “We cannot allow some players to pollute our seas. We will take action for higher standards.”

Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]