Summer clean-up campaign shows tuna industry’s commitment to environmental responsibility
A summer clean-up campaign was yet another initiative of Aquaculture Resources Limited, the operating arm of the Federation of Malta Aquaculture Producers, demonstrating its commitment to social responsibility and environmental stewardship throughout its economic activities.
“We seek to improve our clean-up endeavours each year: this is not a reactive mission, but a committed belief in playing our part in ensuring the health and cleanliness of our waters,” said ARL director Charlon Gouder.
ARL commissioned two vessels, equipped with maritime cleaning tools as well as RHIBs that could access tiny spaces at sea, to monitor a large stretch of the Maltese coast, from Mellieħa in the north down to Wied iż-Żurrieq in the southwest.
These large boats, crewed by three workers each, received alerts from two public hotlines that allowed them to react immediately to reports of all forms of trash found at sea: one team covered a northern route from Mellieħa to Valletta, while the southern route continued from the Valletta breakwater right to Wied iż-Żurrieq.
The trash collected by the teams amounted to nearly half a ton of trash every day, apart from 45kgs of waste oil collected daily from the sea and included all forms of maritime flotsam generated by various industrial practices or even recreational fisheries.
This trash included various plastics, Jablo boxes, wooden pallets, organic waste and engine oils. Using special muslin nets, rather than a skimmer, the teams painstakingly collected the oil waste by concentrating it using booms before picking it up. In the case of complex spills, the ARL contacted Transport Malta to effect an immediate recovery of the oil waste.
ARL collaborated with the clean-up NGO, Żibel, on an oilspill report near Buġibba, allowing ARL’s clean-up teams to effect an immediate 7am recovery of the waste oil just hours after the report came in.
“These are the kind of synergies that we are looking for,” said Gouder. “Ideally, many industries should be doing something similar, because waste can be generated by various maritime industries or seaborne tourism services.”
FMAP’s tuna pens, located 5km away from the Mellieħa coast, are inspected by the Environment and Resources Authority on a weekly basis.
This year, ARL ensured that its clean-up teams were on hand to collect any by-product from the tuna feeding process that could generate so-called “sea slime”.
This kind of slick is a biodegradable product that is generated from the feed – mackerel or sardine – administered to caged tuna. The concentration of this baitfish in cages makes it susceptible to strong currents.
However, it is also true that after storms, natural slicks can be formed when strong currents pick up algae dislodged from the seaweed beds, with their nutrient naturally dispersed into the form of a slimy slick. Indeed, in previous years even the ERA has acknowledged that blooms of bluegreen algae have been responsible for the foamy substance known as “sea snot”.
Given Mellieħa’s own heritage of tuna fishing, it is likely that wild tuna might seek shelter close to the coast and, in rare cases, move further inland. Illegal fishing might also mean that tuna caught during recreational fishing is let off near the coast.
“The tuna penning industry works under strict ICCAT rules and quotas, which means all our catch is accounted for. However, there are also cases where our clean-up teams found the remains of a tuna that was filleted out at sea: this is an indication of a catch by recreational fishers,” said Dr Gouder.
Malta’s tuna farms are
obliged by their environmental permits to have booms encircling their cages to collect any feed by-product or slime as it is generated. This fish, that can weigh in excess of 240kg, generates strong currents within the cage during feeding time, exacerbating the chances of a slick. A balance has to be sought between the dimensions of the booms and ensuring adequate water flow into the cages, for the welfare of the tuna.
“Any slicks are subject to different winds and currents that can take all sorts of trajectories. What must be ensured is that the slick is collected before it leaves the farm. Ultimately, we believe that anyone who uses the sea as a resource needs to contribute to its upkeep and cleanliness. We are playing our part, and hope to be even more proactive in harnessing the good will of those who are actively involved in the constant clean-up activities of our coasts and seas,” concluded Gouder.