Coverage of biology research

Yet another letter by Alan Deidun (Turtle Release Saga, November 24) continues to put forward claims in my regard that are unwarranted, unfounded and now out of point with regard to my turtle rescue involvement. These need to be cleared for The Times readers.

Dr Deidun makes reference to one of my news clips forwarded to The Sunday Times in 2002, in which I was clearly describing various projects that had been undertaken by various students under my supervision at the university in the area of conservation biology and sustainable tourism. As such some of these were presented at the biology symposium (however not all) and the title I submitted with my news clip also focused on the conservation implications coming out of these scientific research projects that are of interest to the public and it did not in any way state that it was a report of the biology symposium.

The one letter that was issued in 2002 and which based itself on the wrong assumption, that I was reporting on the biology symposium, was unjustified and The Sunday Times editor's reply to the letter indicated it.

It is therefore clear that the statement by Dr Deidun in his recent letter, that "The Sunday Times made the commendable decision to assign such reporting elsewhere (to the undersigned - Alan Deidun) so that all biology research projects, irrespective of their supervisor, are featured. This is what will happen again this year", is not correct and my local awareness news clips, voluntarily written for a better local understanding and awareness of conservation research and science, still are appreciated by The Sunday Times.

After all, just as Dr Deidun regularly describes certain research projects, including his research over and above other research currently ongoing in the Maltese islands, why shouldn't other researchers overview valid projects to promote the importance of scientific research in the Maltese islands?

Therefore, the reason behind Dr Deidun's carrying in his environment page the biology symposium's overview of the presentations has nothing to do with my news clip back in 2002 as Dr Deidun describes and thus he should apologise for his inaccurate insinuations.

Laurence Grech, editor of The Sunday Times, writes:
Dr Vella's report on papers presented by her students in 2002 did not purport to cover the biology symposium of that year, contrary to the impression which the heading published in The Sunday Times could have given.

This was made clear in my reply to the letter sent in at the time.

It was Dr Deidun who offered to provide the newspaper with a report of the annual biology symposium which appears in The Sunday Times.