Unsightly seaweed remains at San Blas well into the bathing season, and the Environment and Resources Authority is pointing its finger at the Gozo Ministry for the situation.

The Gozo Ministry admitted a few days ago it had not yet cleared tons of seaweed sitting on the shores of the picturesque bay as usually happens before the start of the bathing season.

The ministry said it was awaiting “necessary permits by the respective authorities”.

This reply appeared to have irked the environment watchdog, which, in a letter to the Times of Malta last week, said it did receive an application for the removal of seaweed from San Blas, however, it was “not in a position to continue processing this application in view of the fact that the applicant has not yet provided the information requested”.

Sources close to the regulator said that although the ministry was told specifically what information was required, this had not been forthcoming.

They also noted that the ministry did not need a permit to clear seaweed from Daħlet Qorrot because that consisted of a straightforward operation.

“However, even in this case, the tons of seaweed were only cleared after an item and photographs appeared on the Times of Malta,” the sources noted.

Frequent visitors to San Blas had complained that although they had pleaded with the Gozo Ministry to ensure the idyllic small sandy beach would be cleaned up, their request fell on deaf ears as nothing was done.

They noted that despite the seaweed, the result of a natural process, was always cleared before the start of the summer season to make more space for beachgoers, mainly consisting tourists.

According to information obtained by the Times of Malta, the ministry has at its disposal four full-time beach cleaners who are assigned to clean San Blas throughout the year. They form part of a bigger group of 57 beach cleaners employed by the government in Gozo on a full-time basis.

The seaweed at San Blas bay was still there on Monday.