The government will be looking into unregulated dumping of raw sewage in the sea by recreational vessels, which, according to a marine biologist, is reversing the benefits of domestic sewage treatment.
“The government is aware that, in general, recreational vessels dispose of sewage out at sea. This is normally done when the vessels are moving and at a reasonable distance from the shoreline.
“The government intends to look into the matter to determine what practical improvements can be made,” a spokesman for the transport watchdog told The Times of Malta.
It was disgusting to see plankton surfacing and sticking to patches of asphalt
The comments come after this newspaper contacted the Environment Ministry when the scientific director of a research boat that visited Malta last week reported pollution hotspots not far from the island.
Gabriel Gorsky, scientific director of the expedition studying the effect of plastic contamination in the Mediterranean, said the eastern Maltese waters were polluted with high quantities of floating plastic and asphalt.
“At times, it was disgusting to see plankton surfacing and sticking to patches of asphalt. The eastern side of Malta is fairly polluted,” he said.
Local marine biologist Alan Deidun said that tanks on cargo vessels were washed out at sea instead of at port, where a fee would have to be paid, and oil and other residue was discharged in the sea.
Dr Deidun suggested imposing controls where tanks would have to be cleaned after the ship made a number of port calls and the waste should be adequately disposed of on land, such as through the Kalkara tank-cleaning facility.
Transport Malta, however, said such cleaning might take place on the high seas and outside the jurisdiction of the Maltese authorities.
“If this is observed or reported within the jurisdiction of the Maltese authorities it is investigated and legal action is taken if there is objective evidence.”
Dr Gorsky said the main source of pollution investigated by the research boat Tara was plastic. Once plastic entered the digestive system of small fish, some toxins remained within the creature’s body, which was, in turn, eaten by larger fish that might end up on our plates.
Half of the plastic produced for consumption is used to make bags. Dr Deidun noted that, some years ago, there was a drop in the consumption of plastic bags following the introduction of an eco tax. However, plastic bags had crept back in shops and people just pay the contribution.
When contacted, a spokeswoman said Environment Minister Leo Brincat had personally discussed plastic litter within the context of marine pollution and biodiversity with Dr Gorsky.
“It has long been a priority of concern for us that plastic littering should not be seen solely within the context of land-based pollution,” she said.
The ministry was also involved in discussions at EU level about proposals on plastic bags and a new waste package that recognised marine litter as an important issue. The current eco contribution regime was also being reviewed within the context of the government’s Budget 2014 commitment.
Mr Brincat said that the collection of scientific information on the status of marine biodiversity was becoming more of a priority concern.
He added that when it came to plastic bottles, WasteServ was already leading by example and over the past two years it had collected over one million plastic bottles at the civic amenity sites through the Iġbor u Irbaħ (collect and win) campaign, which works out at an average of 10,500 bottles per week.
A total of 156,680 kilograms of plastic or polystyrene, including plastic bottles, were collected through such sites in 2012 and the amount rose to 175,302 kilograms last year.