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local
news
The dark side of the fish farming
boom
Nadine Brincat
Perhaps with all the problems and scares related to meat products
recently, we shouldn't be surprised to learn that fish farming is
set to overtake cattle ranching as a food source in the near future.
But as this industry grows and thrives, both abroad and in Malta,
the traditional fisherman is suffering from these trends, and is
far from happy about them.
Ivan Portanier, spokesman for the National Co-operative for Fishing,
voiced the fears of many of his comrades as he spoke about both
the environmental damage the industry is doing to the sea and the
loss of business fishermen are incurring.
The issue has now reached a head with the Planning Authority planning
to issue permits to Azzopardi Fisheries for extended tuna penning
in St Paul's Bay.
"This is causing serious environmental damage to the sea bed,"
Mr Portanier said. "While the government claims to be dealing
with the EU about conservation of the environment, it is allowing
this damaging project to take place."
The co-operative appealed for the authorities not to ignore the
issue and the livelihood of the 500 families it represents.
Mr Portanier, explained that the tuna penning methods used in Malta
consist of catching live fish from the wild sea and caging them
in the pens.
"The fish are then fattened for a number of months and are
then slaughtered and sold," he said.
He added that the co-operative was always opposed to the tuna pen
in St Paul's Bay, and time had proved them right.
"It creates pollution and is negative to the ecology of sea
life," he said. "We were right about the conditions of
the seabed under and around the pen and the damage this area suffered."
Mr Portanier said there were fish on the seabed, due to the extra
feed. "Azzoppardi Fisheries is obliged to cleaning the seabed
after the fish are fed," he said, "while the nylon sacks
in which they keep the bait are thrown into the sea, when they are
almost empty."
As a fish, tuna disposes of lots of waste.
"The fact that there are around 500 fish means that there is
a lot of pollution in a limited area," he continued. "The
area is close to the shore and in shallow waters, around 50 metres
deep. The waste lands straight under the pens. Since the area is
shallow and it is not so diluted, the currents carry it over a shorter
distance, because the depth of the sea is shallower. When the flesh
of the bait deteriorates it becomes toxic killing the vegetation
of the sea bed as well as other marine life forms."
Mr Portanier pointed out that no fish have been caught in the wide
area between Xghajra and Ghadira, which is usually a good fishing
spot. He said this could be a coincidence or could be down to the
tuna pens.
The co-operative is also against the purse seine methods used to
initially catch the tuna, which involves the casting of very large
nets, which would then close in on the fish.
"These methods lead to a lot of wastage, as a substantial portion
of the fish trapped at the bottom of the net die, and are no longer
good for human consumption, so they are thrown back into the sea,
causing additional pollution," he said. "These methods
make it even more difficult to find and catch tuna fish and have
led to other fishermen incurring a substantial loss running into
thousands of liri and months of hard work for nothing."
Greenpeace was surprisingly reticent when asked to comment on the
fish farming controversy, with Greenpeace Communications Director,
Caroline Muscat, simply saying the group was not campaigning on
that issue at present.
But Julian Manduca, Coordinator of Friends of the Earth, was more
forthcoming, saying: "Fish farms are being found to have long
term detrimental impacts on the marine environment and Malta has
too many such farms."
Azzopardi Fisheries were given a 12-month licence last April and
have applied for this to be renewed, along with a request to double
the number of cages.
Mr Portanier said this would inevitably mean more damage.
"We expect at least a public hearing to voice our opinion,"
he said.
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