‘We are ready to stop the factory ourselves’ - Birżebbuġa residents protest over tuna plant stench

Residents and workers around Birżebbuġa have been complaining of a stench and sewage leaks coming from the plant

The tuna recycling factory is owned by Aquaculture Resources Ltd and processes the remains of slaughtered tuna into fishmeal for use in pet food (Photo: Moviment Graffitti)
The tuna recycling factory is owned by Aquaculture Resources Ltd and processes the remains of slaughtered tuna into fishmeal for use in pet food (Photo: Moviment Graffitti)

Birżebbuġa residents and activists have warned that they will not back down and are ready to close the tuna recycling plant, if the stench is not immediately addressed.

Numerous Birżebbuġa residents with the support of Għaqda Storja u Kultura Birżebbuġa and Moviment Graffitti have this morning protested against the stench coming from the tuna recycling plant which started operating over two months ago.

Andre Callus from Moviment Graffitti warned that the protest was just the first step of many, “We are telling you nicely to listen to our pleas and immediately close the plant. If you don’t listen to our cries, which should be obvious, then we must escalate our actions.”

“If needs be, we will stop the operations, along with residents. Listen to this warning because what’s going on is unacceptable.”

Residents and workers around Birżebbuġa, Bengħisa and Ħal Far have been complaining of a stench and sewage leaks coming from the plant. Moreover, roads in a Birżebbuġa neighbourhood have recently been flooded with fish remains.

The tuna recycling factory is owned by Aquaculture Resources Ltd and processes the remains of slaughtered tuna into fishmeal for use in pet food. The new factory is situated in the Ħal Far industrial estate.

Callus said that the tuna industry was a powerful industry, and had caused a huge amount of damage for decades.

“They filled our bays with slime for many years. At first, they said it wasn’t their fault but everyone now agrees that the slime was the consequence of greed. Now they’re telling us that the fish smells aren’t originating from the plant, when we know it is. bays, After the bays, their next victims are the residents of Birżebbuġa,” Callus said.

Aquaculture Resources CEO Charlon Gouder insisted with the Times of Malta that the plant was not responsible for the foul smell in the area and that inspectors never reported any stench in over 60 inspections since October.

Birżebbuġa mayor Scott Camilleri, who was previously criticised for inaction over the matter, said that the Water Services Corporation continuously cleaned the drainage system, but acknowledged that the fish smell was not present before the factory operations started.

Andre Callus from Moviment Graffitti said that the tuna industry was a powerful industry, and had caused a huge amount of damage for decades (photo: Moviment Graffitti)
Andre Callus from Moviment Graffitti said that the tuna industry was a powerful industry, and had caused a huge amount of damage for decades (photo: Moviment Graffitti)

Some of the protests were not having it and called out the council for “doing nothing” and for the other councillors for not showing up.

Conrad d’Amato, secretary of Għaqda Storja u Kultura Birżebbuġa said that successive governments neglected the locality and said that the residents had to make their voices heard.

“We don’t want anyone to condition the air we breathe. It’s a fact that the town is sometimes taken over by intolerable smells and that this has been happening ever since the plant started operating,” D’Amato said.