Swimmers have been complaining about greasy sea sludge washing up on local shores for years - and many have consistently pointed the finger at fish farms as the prime culprit. 

Despite years of repeated complaints, authorities have done little to get to the bottom of things.

Residents were complaining about the pollution as far back as 2005. By 2009, environmental groups were demanding action. 

When the Times of Malta pressed Mepa on the issue in 2014, a spokesman simply said "the source [of the slime] is not known."

But a fish farm owner's admission to the Times of Malta last week that the industry was a source of the pollution has now spurred the Environment Ministry into action. 

In a statement announcing an investigation into fish farm pollution, the ministry said that authorities would first have to "take stock of the situation" before meeting with fish farm owners. 

We thought we would help authorities out. 

Bathers have previously snapped photos of the foamy slick in Birżebbuġa ....

As well as Kalanka bay in Delimara ....

Nearby Marsascala has also been affected. 

But it isn't only Malta's southern shores which have had to reckon with the slime over the seasons. 

Pembroke's mayor Dean Hili told the Times of Malta that he and his fellow councillors have been urging the authorities to take action. 

Photo: Marietta Lanzon

Bathers in St Paul's Bay have reported similar problems. 

Even Archbishop Charles Scicluna felt moved to tell his Twitter followers about the slime earlier this summer. 

Head a bit further north, towards Mellieħa's Għajn Żejtuna bay, and the situation was much the same. 

Photo: Kathleen Buttigieg

Photo: Mark John Vella Bardon

Spotted the dreaded sludge somewhere else? Send your photos to mynews@timesofmalta.com