Kurt Bugeja Coster
Campaign for swimmers' safety
The number of swimming areas barred to boats will be increased by 11 to 37 next month to ensure more safety.
Each zone will be clearly marked by red and yellow buoys and some will provide a passageway for boats to go through when launched or are being towed back ashore.
The Malta Maritime Authority has also set a speed limit of 10 knots in 24 bays, which have buoys with a flashing yellow light and a radar reflector.
The berthing system at the Blue Lagoon, in Comino, has also been reorganised. A temporary pontoon has replaced a damaged jetty in the vicinity and several anchoring sites were designated.
The swimming area, expanded past the small sandy beach, was closed off with steel cables to keep the boats out. The bay is very popular in summer and boats constantly transporting people to and from the surrounding bay could pose a danger to swimmers.
The authority, together with the police, will enforce conservation regulations above shipwrecks, which are very popular among divers.
Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt welcomed the authority's initiative and said that in such a small country there was need to regulate the conflict between swimmers and boats. "Unfortunately, the sea is almost as congested by boats as the streets are by cars, mostly along the north eastern coast, where there are most bays" he said.
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Tony Marsh
May 24th 2009, 00:12
Sorry, but a bigger danger to swimmers is jet-skis, not least because of the careless and reckless attitude of most of the riders, coupled with the negligence shown by jet-ski renters in making sure that basic rules are observed......But as long as they're raking in the money, why waste time explaining the rules?....
C. Weitze
May 23rd 2009, 22:04
I do not know where you got your wisdom from, but in Spain the authorities go fishing for jellyfish regularly in order to keep the beaches safe. I can asure you they wouldn't do it - if it wasn't a success. Furthermore you have forgotten to mention sea turtles as natural preditors for jellyfish.
As for what attracks jellyfish: fishfarms do!
Therefore it would be beneficial if all those fishfarms that shot up like mushrooms in our bays are being placed where they lawfully shoud be - a couple of miles away from the shore in the open sea.
Regarding the jelly scare of Portuguese Man of War via e-mail:
You should have a good look, cause the article is of 2008 and the pictures are are very common ones that you can find on google. Fact is the information is one year old and new information of 2009 don't exist on google.
Keeps me wondering, whether this e-mail was distributed by this new company, who offers jellyfish warnings via sms against a charge.....who knows?!?
Sylvia zammit
May 23rd 2009, 20:40
Well, as a vegetarian I could not agree more with Chris Finch! let's be realistic though - how likely is that to happen ? Considering how much Malta relies on tourism (as usual, never mind the natives!) something must be done.
Chris Finch
May 23rd 2009, 13:40
Sylvia, something can be done, stop all fishing for tuna in the Med for the next 5 years and then MAYBE, just maybe the stocks will recover sufficiently enough for them to eat the jelly fish.
Because of this overfishing, we are seeing swarms of jellyfish.
Nets dont work as the jellyfish are shredded in the currents against the nets causing the stinging cells to become more widespread.
ALso close inshore, stop fishing for other species as bream etc also eat jellyfish. Other than that, if people want to continue to fish, dont complain about the jellyfish.
Syllvia zammit
May 23rd 2009, 11:00
Good - but can anything be done about the jellyfish - especially with the Portugese man of war 'invasion'?