Divers object to further tuna pens off Qawra
The action committee promoting the setting up of an underwater marine park off Qawra point said yesterday that if the Malta Environment and Planning Authority were to give the go-ahead to a proposed new tuna farm off Qawra point, it would be virtually...
The action committee promoting the setting up of an underwater marine park off Qawra point said yesterday that if the Malta Environment and Planning Authority were to give the go-ahead to a proposed new tuna farm off Qawra point, it would be virtually telling the committee that it was not interested in the marine park.
The MEPA board will this morning be holding a public meeting at its offices in Floriana to consider a number of development applications, one of which is for tuna pens off Qawra.
"The proposed tuna pens will, if allowed, fall in the buffer zone of the proposed marine park, because it would actually be sited between the wreck of the (former Gozo ferry) Imperial Eagle, and the wreck of the Second World War submarine HMS Stubborn. The area where these two wrecks are located is very popular with divers," a member of the committee explained.
The marine park, once established, would provide a conservation area where fish could breed without hindrance from fishing of any sort. The action committee had taken the initiative to sink the wreck of the Imperial Eagle on this site, as well as a concrete statue of Christ which had originally been submerged closer to the coast, but which was moved out to sea because the quality of the water in its original location had deteriorated.
"The marine park would ensure that no more tuna pens are set up off Qawra. With the current tuna pens on site, it would not be such a problem to monitor the quality of the sea, but with another company having tuna pens close by, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine who was the cause of any deterioration of the water," the committee member said.
The Malta Tourism Authority, Nature Trust and the Professional Diving Schools Assocation are all in favour of the marine park, which would prove to be a great attraction for visiting divers.
"Tour operators have already expressed their interest in the underwater park becoming an attraction not only for scuba divers, but also for snorkellers."