The tuna farm operators who will have to relocate their facility to the newly approved aquaculture zone have decided to appeal the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's decision.
Contacted yesterday, John Refalo, the legal representative of Salvu Ellul and Joseph Caruana, owners of Malta Fish Farming and Fish and Fish Ltd respectively, said his clients would appeal and resort to "other legal procedures".
On Thursday, Mepa gave the green light for an aquaculture zone six kilometres off Marsascala where two tuna farms presently operating close to shore will be moved.
The offshore zone is intended to attract further investment by accommodating new tuna farming operators, increasing the total capacity of the area to 9,000 tonnes of blue fin tuna.
On the eve of the public hearing, when Mepa approved the project spearheaded by the Fisheries Conservation and Control Division, Mr Ellul and Mr Caruana unsuccessfully filed an application for a writ of prohibitory injunction against Mepa, Fisheries Director Anthony Gruppetta and Environment Minister George Pullicino claiming abuse in their regard.
They argued that the relocation of their fish farms implied that their existing permits would change without being submitted to formal procedures in terms of the law. Besides, the tuna operators said there were serious shortcomings in the way the application for relocation was being processed.
"Mepa chose not to adopt the strategic environment assessment procedure which takes account of a project's sustainability from all aspects. The SEA was adopted by the European Union and is therefore applicable to Malta," they said.
Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia rejected the writ on grounds that the tuna farmers could resort to Mepa's appeal mechanism if they chose to.
Marsascala mayor Charlot Mifsud said the council had still to decide whether an appeal would be filed because it still had to discuss the issue.
"We exclude nothing. We will continue seeking the best interests of residents as we are doing in the Sant'Antnin recycling plant issue," he said.
Reuben Buttigieg, for the Marsascala Shop Owners' Association, said the association could also appeal the decision.
The association, together with the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise - GRTU, filed a judicial protest against Mepa on Thursday morning before the public hearing.
During the hearing, Mr Buttigieg presented a petition against the aquaculture zone, claiming the document had been endorsed by the business community, residents and fishermen from the Ghaqda Kooperattiva tas-Sajd among others.
Paul Piscopo, secretary of the Ghaqda Koperattiva tas-Sajd, immediately intervened pointing out that the cooperative had nothing to do with the petition.
Mr Buttigieg yesterday accused the cooperative of making a U-turn during the public meeting because it had signed the petition through its former secretary.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Piscopo denied having changed the cooperative's position, explaining that the petition had been signed by his predecessor, Carmelo Bugeja, "in his personal capacity".
"The cooperative committee, and I have been part of it for the past three years, never resolved to oppose the existing fish farms or the aquaculture zone," Mr Piscopo said, adding that the cooperative could not object to the current fish farms when it had a service agreement with one of them.
Mr Piscopo said the cooperative's 160 members were in favour of more aquaculture zones so long as these are not placed on fish hatching reefs used by Maltese fishermen.
He reiterated his view that existing farms "might just as well remain where they are".