St.Paul’s Bay-based bluefin farm, Azzopardi Fisheries, is accused of being the origin of sea slime that has been a cause of concern for Maltese authorities and beach-goers for the past few weeks. A group of environmentalists and concerned citizens gathered in front of the company last week, as part of the campaign ‘Dardartu Lilna, Dardartu Baħar,’ which translates in English to ‘Darkness to Us, Darkness to the Sea,’ urging the company to take steps to clean up. The protesters also slammed the Fisheries Ministry for its silence and inaction.

Charles Azzopardi, owner of the farm, said he deployed three vessels to clean the slime. When asked the reason for the sludge to spread, he said that he does not know and it has never been like this, reported news site Times of Malta. Meanwhile, the Maltese environmental watchdog, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), is likely to fine the firm causing the issue, but did not confirm that it will be Azzopardi Fisheries. The news site reported that ERA is still in the process of taking action and calculating the administrative penalty. Several tourists and locals took to social media to share how the slime has been impacting them, with beachgoers slipping and having minor injuries, which were among the most common complaints.

Thirty-two fisheries observers, newly hired by the Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), completed the ‘Knowing Your Public Service (KYPS)’ training last week. The week-long event was attended by observers from different parts of the island nation, who will be working on tuna and other fishing vessels. MFMR asserted that KYPS is a key requirement for all staff who are employed in the Public Service. The training is designed to equip new or probationary public servants with an understanding of government structures, roles, responsibilities, ethics, and professional standards. An MFMR spokesperson said that a similar training will be give to observers currently deployed on tuna and other fishing vessels.

The funding for the training was provided by the World Bank through the Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program for Economic Resilience (PROPER) Project, an initiative to enhance the sustainable management and economic resilience of Pacific Island countries’ fisheries and marine ecosystems, read a MFMR Facebook post.

The US Pennsylvania State Police have yet to find the thief who stole 20 tons of canned tuna. The incident happened on July 25 when a man stole a trailer with canned tuna and took off in William Township, a municipality in Pennsylvania, according to eyewitnesses. Investigations are ongoing. Details on how the theft happened or what brand of canned tuna were inside were not revealed by the police, but the vehicle was found sans the cans near New York, by the New York Police Department, reported lehighvalleylive.com.

A similar incident happened in South Philadelphia in August 2024, almost 100 km away from where the latest theft took place. Thieves targeted a truck parked on the main road, making off with thousands of dollars’ worth of tuna.