Marsascala residents are irked by the continued presence of seven large fish pens inside St Thomas Bay which first appeared there in February.
This is the third year running that the large fish cages made an appearance inside the bay, but their stay seemed to be getting longer, an irate resident told the Times of Malta.
Several residents approached this newspaper with their concerns over what appears to be repair work being carried out on the cages. There is a fish farming operation further out at sea, off Xrobb l-Għaġin, but it is unclear whether the pens inside St Thomas Bay belong to the same operator.
It appeared the cages were brought in for maintenance but nobody really knew, Marsascala councillor John Baptist Camilleri said. He has received several complaints since the cages first appeared in the bay.
“This has become a habit and, apart from being an eyesore inside the bay, residents are fearful of potential contamination from fish food, since nobody knows what is inside the cages,” Mr Camilleri said.
He noted that the subject was raised at the last council meeting and councillors were informed that the Planning Authority had issued an enforcement order giving the operator 16 days to move the pens out of the bay.
“The 16 days have long expired, and there is no sign that the cages will be moved any time soon,” Mr Camilleri added.
Questions sent to the Planning Authority on Monday remained unanswered at the time of writing.
A visit to the area yesterday morning confirmed the cages were still inside the bay just below the Munxar promontory with no activity in their vicinity.
The cages are used by operators to either house tuna catches or grow fish that have been hatched elsewhere.
Marsascala’s inlets have on several occasions been polluted with an oily substance that smells of fish, which residents blame on the food used in the fish farming activities in the area.
“For all it’s worth, the cages are empty, but the council has no way of verifying this, and residents are very wary because of the bad experience when the sea in the area is contaminated,” Mr Camilleri said.
St Thomas Bay is a popular swimming zone for Marsascala residents and others who live in neighbouring towns.
Mr Camilleri insisted the cages should not be inside the bay and urged the authorities to take action and force the operator to take the cages out to sea.