The pros and cons of an an aquaculture zone

The major issues at stake and interests linked to the proposed aquaculture zone off Marsascala came out during two stormy public meetings last week. Massimo Farrugia was there.

"Is there anywhere else in the world where 9,000 tonnes of tuna are fattened in just nine square kilometres of water," Carmelo Agius, biologist and long-time aquaculture consultant, asked brusquely.

There was a brief moment of silence before tuna producers, who were facing officials from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the Fisheries Department, made several arguments all leading to a common conclusion - that the environment impact statement on the proposed aquaculture zone off Marsascala was "inconclusive".

For Salvu Ellul, of Malta Fishfarming Ltd and Melita Tuna Ltd, and Joe Caruana, of Malta Tuna Trading Ltd, relocating the farms six kilometres offshore means an expense running into millions of liri. The EIS estimates the relocation may cost up to €6 million. They are not even sure whether any insurance will cover them and the EIS has not entered into that merit either.

"You are asking us to leave a safe place and plunge ourselves into hell," an emotional Mr Ellul said during the public consultation meeting on December 2 when Mepa was receiving feedback from stakeholders about the proposed project.

Mr Ellul said the policies on which the EIS was based were unclear, adding that the study lacked guidelines on what the size of the tuna cages and the anchorage systems in deep waters should be. He asked whether as an operator being asked to move he would be given preference over future operators.

Mepa official Michael Sant, who was present for the consultation meeting, said the management and operation of the site, including the viability of the farms inside the zone which was the responsibility of the Fisheries Department, were beyond the scope of the EIS. Drawing an analogy, economist Edward Scicluna, who, together with Prof. Agius, was commissioned as independent consultant to evaluate the EIS, remarked that Mepa could not be seen as approving a building site without wanting to know whether the building site is a bungalow, a two-storey or a high rise building. The same could apply in the case of the aquaculture zone.

ADI Associates director Adrian Mallia (the author of the EIS), on the other hand, insisted more than once that the study ADI had coordinated had strictly abided by the terms of reference given by Mepa.

Fielding questions during the same meeting, the Director of Fisheries, Anthony Gruppetta, said he had specifically not given details of operation within the site to the EIS consultants as technology was likely to change by the time a decision was made. Further meetings with the operators would be necessary to decide what kind of technology could be used.

In 2004, floating tuna entrails drifted into Marsascala Bay when fish were being killed in the open sea. The jumbo bag which was supposed to contain the entrails burst and the offal could not be collected because of rough seas.

Besides such a "freak" accident, which was mentioned in Parliament, fish farms are said to contaminate the sea also during the feeding process. The environment impact statement says that such problems could be avoided through better management of the farms' operation, making the case that the pattern of sea currents in the proposed zone is likely to push any offal away from the shore.

Marsascala mayor Charlo Mifsud is not convinced. The local council, he said, objected to the proposed development as sea bream (awrat) and sea bass (spnot) farms would still remain close to shore even though the EIS was stating that the aquaculture zone would be six kilometres away and practically out of sight.

"In reality, the number of farms will increase and the impact on our area will be larger than what it is today," Mr Mifsud said.

"Why is it that all major projects with adverse environmental impacts are always brought to the south of Malta," the mayor asked, referring to the controversial Sant'Antnin Waste Recycling plant which is also on his plate.

Alternattiva Demokratika and environmental NGOs have also made the argument that fish farms pollute the sea. Retailers too oppose the aquaculture zone saying this would have an adverse impact on the 110 establishments.

At the public consultation meeting, Reuben Buttigieg, from the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise, GRTU, said the EIS had failed to indicate where the land base of the fish farms would be and where the vessels servicing the farms would be moored. Moreover, the environment impact assessment consultants had not consulted tourism operators.

Asked about the land base issue, Malta Environment and Planning Authority official Michael Sant replied this was "beyond the remit of the EIA". Replying to the question of mooring berths for vessels in a meeting with the present operators, the Mepa official said berthing was not even the responsibility of the Fisheries Department but of the Malta Maritime Authority.

This provoked a vociferous reaction from GRTU director general Vince Farrugia who expressed scepticism about "the entire process". Mr Farrugia argued that the economic report was too generic and the EIS could not lead to an economic decision.

"Who decided that the aquaculture zone should be placed there and why," Mr Farrugia asked, adding that despite the "so-called" consultation process, the outcome of the assessment was a "foregone" conclusion.

On this point, ADI Associates' director Adrian Mallia said the aim behind the public meeting itself was consultation with the business operators.

Prospects of attracting big chunk of the business

The proposed aquaculture zone is not just about relocating existing farms. It is set to enable Malta to attract 65 per cent of all tuna farmed in the Mediterranean within the quota given by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna.

It is widely acknowledged that the lucrative business of catching, fattening and selling Mediterranean bluefin tuna to the Japanese, which involves spotting tuna shoals with planes and towing live catches to farms, is depleting the tuna supply mostly because catches exceed ICCAT quotas.

In an intelligence report drawn up by Advanced Tuna Ranching Technologies in October, Spain-based World Wildlife Fund fisheries officer Sergi Tudela was quoted saying that there is an overcapacity of tuna farms in the Mediterranean. He said this "results in a real race for the last tuna from the start of the fishing season to the start of the seasonal closure of the purse seine fisheries".

Since its profits run into millions of euros, tuna fattening also attracts political interests. A typical example was Libya and Tunisia's unilateral decision to declare a "fishing conservation zone" earlier this year to favour European fishing companies, most notably the Fuentes Group, to catch tens of thousands of bluefin tuna inside their waters.

Fuentes has a declared interest in operating tuna farms in the Marsascala zone.

An 'opportunity' for local fishermen

Paul Piscopo, of the Ghaqda Koperattiva tas-Sajd, says Maltese fishermen stand to gain from the project.

Bluefin tuna catches with long lines have decreased in recent years as tuna started being caught by purse seines for fattening in pens.

"We are losing our share of the catch just the same. It is well known that tuna, which is being over-fished in the Mediterranean, is a finite resource. So we might just as well compensate for lack of business by working on the farms," Mr Piscopo said. He insisted the government should make it a condition for potential investors to employ local fishermen to work on the farms.

Himself interested in a tuna-farming licence, which will be issued if the project goes through, Mr Piscopo said no tuna farmer could make it in the lucrative business without striking a partnership with a Japanese investor.

One of the main objections he raised during the public consultation meeting with Mepa last week, however, was that the site earmarked for development falls too close to Is-Sikka tan-Nofs and Hurd Bank - two natural reefs which are important fish hatching sites.

The coordinates of the proposed site were chosen together with the Malta Maritime Authority, which stated that tuna farms should not be placed on the route of vessels bound for Birzebbuga.

Raymond Bugeja, of the National Fishing Cooperative, shares similar views that the zone would generate work for fishermen during peak harvesting months.

Second aquaculture zone for the northwest

Though one of the main arguments used in favour of the zone is removing fish farms out of the way of yacht traffic, the tuna farms in St Paul's Bay and Comino, where most leisure boats sail through, were not included in Mepa's terms of reference for the zone off Marsascala.

According to the Fisheries Department, these farms, owned by Azzopardi Fisheries, should be relocated in another zone towards the northwest of Malta when the first aquaculture zone is already in operation.

Director of Fisheries Anthony Gruppetta said there were at least six potential investors interested in a licence at the aquaculture zone in the south.

"It will be difficult to accommodate everyone," Dr Gruppetta added.

Tuna farmers in Malta

AJD Tuna Limited
Owned by Charles Azzopardi, of Azzopardi Fisheries, and his Korean partner Lee Gang Pil. The other shareholder of the company is Dohsui Co. Ltd of Japan.

The Sikka il-Bajda tuna ranch off St Paul's Bay has a declared capacity of 2,500 tonnes while the Comino channel cages have a capacity of 800 tonnes.

Malta Fish Farming and Melita Tuna Limited
Owned and operated by Salvu and Charles Ellul of the Elbros group of companies, which has a core business in the construction industry. They operate a two-in-one farm located at Il-Ponta tal-Munxar, northeast off Marsaxlokk Harbour.

The intelligence report claims the Japan-based Takayama Seafood Co. Ltd "will be buying most of the fish again this year". They can farm 1,050 tonnes and 450 tonnes of tuna a year.

Malta Tuna Trading Limited
Owned by Joe Caruana, the farm has a declared capacity of 1,200 tonnes of live tuna.

Mediterranean Tuna Ltd
Registered in the name of Kenneth J. Cole, this company has a licence to operate in Benghajsa, close to Delimara, but it is currently inoperative.

Source: ATRT Tuna Intelligence Report

Opposition by Marsascala residents and retailers