Many anglers are probably not aware that it is illegal to catch several fish species if they are less than 9cm in length.

In an attempt to raise awareness as well as promote interest in the subject, Stanley Farrugia Randon has written a book on fishing in Malta.

An amateur fisherman himself, Dr Farrugia Randon said his interest in fishing gathered momentum when he started frequenting St Paul's Bay some 20 years ago.

"As my father was interested in history, I started researching the subject. I realised that several things were being lost and I wanted to document them," he said.

In his book, Dr Farrugia Randon gives details and illustrations of fishing methods and implements, some of which are no longer in use.

"I used to speak to fishermen and ask them to show me their old tools, or at least describe them so I could draw them."

Dr Farrugia Randon also deals with different types of fishing boat and boat building, the marketing and distribution of fish, the history of the department of fisheries and the depletion of the Mediterranean Sea. The book contains a number of interesting anecdotes. Retired fishermen used the shore seine net, mostly on Sundays, and half of the catch went to the village priest to obtain forgiveness for the sin of working on Sunday.

The oldest records regarding marketing of fish go back to 1469, when a pescheria (fish market) existed. The sale of fish in Rabat was banned, probably because no adequate method of preservation existed at the time.

The book explains that fish prices during the time of the knights were controlled. But the controls applied only to fishermen - hawkers were not affected.

As a lot of people refrained from eating meat on Wednesdays and Fridays for religious reasons, sellers in the 1800s used to keep fish on ice on Tuesdays and Thursdays to sell at a higher price on the following day.

The British issued regulations to prevent this and ordered that fish tails must be chopped off when they left the cold stores in order to ensure the same fish could not return.

Dr Farrugia Randon is spearheading the Blue Campaign for Din l-Art Helwa. The aim is to instil awareness in children and fishermen alike about the need to conserve fish and to fish in a sustainable manner. "The senseless catching of small fry and the use of small fish hooks should be discouraged as the tiny fish that are caught have no use whatsoever," he said.