Sea horses at Mgarr ix-Xini in decline

The Biological Research Foundation has noted a decline in the number of sea horses at Mgarr ix-Xini, a year after the bay suffered ecological damage when it was temporarily transformed to a "sandy" beach by the council using fine aggregate taken from a quarry.

The foundation, which has been conducting a marine biodiveristy project, said it had also noted a decreased presence of dolphins in coastal areas and an increased number of stranded dolphin carcases.

It said that detailed and continuous monitoring of coastal biodiveristy was a must to better assess the impact of new developments and changes.

The foundation felt that little was being done to assess the impact of tuna penning activities and the Mgarr ix-Xini Bay damage.

For years, it has assisted the scientific research of these organisms in their natural setting and worked to increase local awareness on the urgent need to go beyond merely listing these endangered organisms in a list of protected species.

The foundation said it was promoting protected and conservation areas that were monitored and managed with accurate conservation knowledge.

Scuba clubs, the foundation said, were among the strongest contributors to the project. They included Gozo Aqua Sports Dive Centre, Subway Scuba Diving, the Strand Diving Services, Octopus Garden Diving Centre, Maltaqua, Scubatech Diving Centre, St Andrew's Divers Cove and Divewise.

While these scuba diving clubs and their members contributed with their observations, the foundation's scuba diver research assistants undertook detailed surveys of different sites around the Maltese islands to compare sites and biodiversity through time.

This work was being made possible through equipment sponsorship by Mares in conjunction with Subacqua Supplies & Services Ltd. Several centres, including Subway Scuba Diving, Octopus Garden Diving Centre and Gozo Aqua Sports were covering the running costs.