Two of three fish farm operators have not adhered to conditions they set themselves to address illegalities after their permits were revoked by the Planning Authority, the Times of Malta has learned.
In their agreement with the PA, operators bound themselves to empty and remove individual tuna cages by set dates. Site visits by this newspaper, however, reveal that these dates have not been observed.
AJD Tuna, which operates a fish farm off the coast of Mellieħa, agreed to remove four of its six illegal cages by last Sunday, but as of yesterday, only two of the cages had been removed.
Similarly, Fish and Fish, the operator of a farm off Marsaxlokk, has so far only removed one of the three cages specified in its declaration to the PA. Two illegal cages were to be removed by last Sunday, with a third this week.
When contacted, AJD director Charles Azzopardi confirmed that the company had missed the deadline, but stressed that the cages had already been emptied of fish.
“We’re making every effort to stick to the terms of the contract with the PA,” Mr Azzopardi said. “Only nine cages are still full [of the total 12 remaining] and we’re working round the clock to clear them.”
Only one operator has so far complied with its own conditions
Fish and Fish director Joseph Caruana said the illegal cage that was still in place past its deadline had also been emptied of fish, but said works to remove it had been slowed down by a week of bad weather.
He added the company was also waiting for further direction on where to move the cage to.
Only one operator has so far complied with its own conditions. Malta Fish Farms director Saviour Ellul said both the company’s illegal tuna cages had been removed before the set deadline. The company still has 15 illegal sea bream cages in place but there is no set deadline for the situation to be regularised.
Just last week, a lawyer representing operators told this newspaper there was “absolutely no question” that the declarations would be observed.
According to the agreements with the PA, all operators were bound to submit photographic evidence to the authority on a weekly basis showing their compliance with their conditions for removal.
The PA did not respond to questions yesterday on whether it was aware of the infringements and what action would be taken. The authority previously pledged to take enforcement action if the conditions were not met.
Last month, the PA revoked 10 permits from fish farm operators after years of illegalities and harmful environmental practices.
Following the revocation, the farms must all be moved to an approved aquaculture zone six kilometres off the coast in the south of Malta by the end of the year.
Operators had already been served with emergency enforcement orders after it emerged that more than half of fish farm cages were illegal.
The decision to revoke the permits followed a storm of public outrage this summer after the farms were linked to widespread reports of oily slime around the island, which operators later admitted were caused by a new fish feed with higher fat content.