[WATCH] ‘Each year I see the lampuka catch decline. Only the price of fish keeps us going’

Lampuka season, ahoy! Fishermen gear up for weeks of hard work to reel in one of Malta’s favourite fishes

Andrew Caruana prepares his boat for the 15 August: for most people in Malta it will be a day of relaxation, but for Maltese lampuka fishermen, it is the start of the long-awaited season
Andrew Caruana prepares his boat for the 15 August: for most people in Malta it will be a day of relaxation, but for Maltese lampuka fishermen, it is the start of the long-awaited season
Fishermen get ready for the Lampuka season

The traditional plate of fresh Maltese lampuki is set to make its much anticipated return to restaurants and homes alike, as the season’ s beginning draws closer.

“Preparations are well underway, we are in the final phases. All that remains is that we have a successful and profitable season,” Marsaxlokk lampuki fisherman Adrian Caruana said as he rolled up the fishing line he will be using for his outings at sea.

Caruana, like many other fishermen of the dolphin fish, is in his final stages of preparation for the 15 August, the festa of Santa Marija, when the lampuka season kicks off. For many it will be a day of vacation and restoration, spent most likely at sea or seeking shade. For Caruana, it will be a day spent working hard.

“Each year I see the catch population decline more and more. The only thing that keeps us going is the price of the fish”

Lampuki, one of Malta’s most beloved and famous fish dishes, traces its roots back to Roman times, whose fishing techniques are still used to this very day.

When the fishermen spot the fish they lay out their large fishing nets to surround the resting fish
When the fishermen spot the fish they lay out their large fishing nets to surround the resting fish

Caruana, a veteran fisherman, said preparations for the lampuka season start as early as February, as the fishing technique used is one of the most hectic and demanding to prepare.

Through a lottery system, the various licensed fishermen are given a location out at sea where they can lay out their apparatus called ‘cimi’ – a palm tree branch knotted with a floating jablo raft, which is than anchored to the seabed. Lampuki proceed to seek shade under the large palm leaf.

The fishermen move from one raft to another, and if the fish are spotted, they lay out a large fishing net which surrounds the resting fish. The net is then pulled into the boat, through the process dragging in the catch.

Andrew Caruana: the fishing trade runs in the family but he says the industry has changed and become a more difficult one for small fishermen like him
Andrew Caruana: the fishing trade runs in the family but he says the industry has changed and become a more difficult one for small fishermen like him

Lampuki migrate through Maltese waters during late August through to late December, and can be cooked in a variety of ways, from being made into a pie to simply being cooked on a grill. The fish is also exported to foreign countries.

“Fishermen from other countries use our equipment and then proceed to cut it off. It is a little bit of an issue”

Having been passed the baton by his father, Henry Caruana, Adrian, insisted on the sacrifice required to have a successful season. “We might go out for a day, we might go out for three. A lot of factors affect our days at sea.”

Caruana explained how the industry has changed through the years, with a decline in fish population noticed by all fishermen.

“Each year I see the catch population decline more and more. The only thing that keeps us going is the price of the fish,” he said, which he says is competitive enough, and that buyers snatch up the volumes of fish as soon as the price lowers by just a little bit.

By-catch, the process of catching untargeted species, can also occur in the fishing industry, but Caruana said that not a lot of fish species are caught. “Not a lot of different species are caught with the lampuka, but the only fish that must be released is the ‘tunnag’, a smaller and younger type of tuna, which cannot be caught due to size restrictions.”

Fishing essentials: fishermen are delivered a much needed stock of palm leave branches, which will be used for the creation of the ‘cimi’, to which jablo floats are attached. The dolphin fish will seek these floats out for some shade
Fishing essentials: fishermen are delivered a much needed stock of palm leave branches, which will be used for the creation of the ‘cimi’, to which jablo floats are attached. The dolphin fish will seek these floats out for some shade

After it is caught, the fish is kept in pristine condition to be sold when the vessel reaches shore. “I try to keep the fish in its freshest condition. I call my distributor who is ready to pick up the catch as soon as I reach land. From then on, it’s in his hands,” Caruana said.

Proper regulation, paired with respect between industry professionals is essential for the tradition to live on, Caruana says, hopeful that the age-old practice of fishing for lampuki lives on. Fishermen encounter few problems at sea, although they occasionally face vindictive assaults on their fishing apparatus.

“It is a problem sometimes. Fishermen from other countries use our equipment and then proceed to cut it off. It is a little bit of an issue, but there’s not much one can do,” Caruana said.