No haste to save the dusky grouper

The Dusky Grouper, a gentle giant the target of many artisanal and sport-fishing activities, is still awaiting MEPA to finalise protection plans.

A €70,000 action plan outlining measures to protect the grouper was written in 2011 and issued for public consultation in May 2012.

The fish can live up to 50 years and can reach a weight of 35kg, living in rocky coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

But its unique vulnerability is a result of the biological characteristics of the slow growing creature, which inverts sex when it reaches 12 years of age. In 2006, groupers were the fifth most caught species of local fish.

"This species is particularly at risk locally, unless the population is directly protected by some forms of regulations like closed seasons, moratoriums, marine protected area or other forms of fishing restrictions," MEPA says.

This action plan is based on a three-year programme to set up four marine areas of special interest and study further these potential sites for grouper conservation.

One of the measures in the Grouper Action Plan is a certification scheme for restaurants sourced by sustainable fishing practices, to encourage restaurants to buy unharpooned and correctly-sized specimens. The list will be published and the scheme will be regulated through a certification process.

The grouper is already included in Schedule VIII of the 'Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Protection Regulations', of 2006, which comprises animals and plants of national interest and whose exploitation may be subject to management measures.

Until a few years ago, groupers were in dramatic decline around the Mediterranean. Marine reserves slowed down the decline, and they can now be encountered in reasonably high densities, thanks also to moratoria and the ban on spear fishing for groupers.

However, according to the report the situation in Malta has remained much the same, since no such moratoria exist and encounters with groupers are still very sporadic and rare.

Due to its behaviour, quality of the flesh, price and significant size, the grouper is a target species for fishermen, particularly for underwater hunters that are mostly considered as the principle source of mortality for this fish.

Harpoons, fishing with rod and line, and nets, as well as illegal explosives and stupefying chemicals, are still major threats to the fish.

And two years down the line, a MEPA spokesperson has confirmed that the plan "is still being discussed with a view to its finalisation following the public consultation process."