20.2% increase in fish landings

Fish landings in the second quarter amounted to 307,884 kilograms, an increase of 20.2 per cent over the comparative period last year.

Blue Fin Tuna and Swordfish, the main species caught, increased by 82.1 and 19.0 per cent respectively. Furthermore, the wholesale value of fish landings advanced by 22.6 per cent to €2.3 million.

According to the National Statistics Office, Maltese fishermen landed 278,870 kilograms (+30.3 per cent) of fresh fish during the period under review, making up 90.6 per cent of total landings. This resulted mainly from an increase in the landings of Blue Fin Tuna (+85.9 per cent) and Swordfish (+21.2 per cent). The wholesale value of fresh fish landings by Maltese fishermen amounted to €2.1 million, an increase of 25.1 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year.

Fresh fish landings by Gozitan fishermen dropped by 31.2 per cent over the comparative period last year, making up 9.4 per cent of the total landings. An increase in the landings of Shrimp (+78.0 per cent), Stone bass (+8.7 per cent) and Swordfish (+1.1 per cent) were outweighed by drops in all other species, in particular Mackerel (-62.2 per cent) and Blue Fin Tuna (-20.7 per cent). Similarly, the wholesale value of fresh fish landings edged down by 0.5 per cent to €180,282 in the second quarter this year.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish price index for the second quarter stood at 136.43 points, an increase of 7.12 points (+5.5 per cent) over the comparative period in 2013. The increase in the supply of fresh fish was reflected in the quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish volume index, which stood at 94.49 points, up by 15.85 points, or 20.2 per cent over the second quarter of 2013.