Fish landings decline

The volume and wholesale value of fish landings at the fish market declined by 33.7 per cent and 10.4 per cent respectively in the last quarter of last year, the NSO said.

A total of 240,341 kilograms of fresh fish was landed at the fish market, a decline of 33.7 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Drops in fish landings were registered in Dorado (lampuki) (-39.8 per cent), Swordfish (-16.0 per cent) and Stone Bass (-66.9 per cent). Likewise, the wholesale value of fresh fish landed fell by 10.4 per cent, to stand at Lm0.44m (€1.03m).

The decline was steeper in Gozo, with landings declining by 60.8 per cent . Dorado landings at the fish market made up 90.8 per cent of all Gozitan landings in the fourth quarter of 2007. However, Dorado landings declined by 59.4 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Although higher prices for the major species were obtained, the wholesale value of fresh fish landed by Gozitan fishermen declined by 40.1 per cent over the comparative period, the result of smaller catches

Foreign-flagged vessels landed 1,029 kilograms of fresh fish yielding a wholesale value of Lm2,193 (€5,108) This represented a decline of 18.8 per cent in volume and 14.9 per cent in the wholesale value when compared to the fourth quarter of 2006.

The Quarterly 'All Items' fresh fish price index for the fourth quarter of 2007 stood at 125.15 points, up by 16.28 points (+15.0 per cent) from 108.87 points in the fourth quarter of 2006. On the other hand, the Quarterly 'All Items' fresh fish volume index fell by 36.53 points (-33.7 per cent) from 108.44 points in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 71.91 points in the fourth quarter last year.