Lampuki season deemed ‘disastrous’

The seasonal abundance of lampuki (dolphin fish) has failed to materialise this year, with “disastrous” catches wreaking havoc with the price and availability of Malta’s national fish.

Sea currents, Italian eating habits... ships in Libyan waters among possible reasons

But zoologists and biologists say that any claims as to a single cause behind the scarcity are a red herring.

The lampuki season begins around August 15 and ends at the end of the year, although the season can be extended by the Director of Fisheries. Lampuki are currently selling at around €7 per kilo – more than double the price the fish usually commands during abundant fishing seasons.

Opinions as to reasons behind this year’s scarcity were a dime a dozen. One fishmonger told The Sunday Times that Italians’ growing taste for lampuki was driving Italian fishing vessels to fish for it, while a number of others said that, in their opinion, increased shipping movements along the Libyan coast were drawing the fish away from Maltese shores.

Charles Azzopardi of Azzopardi Fisheries seemed fairly unconcerned by the limited catch so far.

“Fishing catches are highly dependent on climatic conditions. This year, sea temperatures have been slightly higher than usual, pushing the entire season back,” he said.

“I expect lampuki catches to pick up later in October, and for there to be abundant catches well into January.”

Some other fishermen were slightly less sanguine. “This is the worst lampuki season I can remember. It’s a disaster,” one said, while another two fishermen felt the fish were being drawn southwards by the many ships passing through Libyan waters.

According to biologist Patrick Schembri, it is practically impossible to establish a single factor causing the lampuki shortage.

“The truth is, nobody knows precisely why there is a shortage,” Prof. Schembri said.

“What we do know is that lampuki are a migratory species which depend on sea currents, which are variable.”

Spawning patterns also played a part. A season’s stock of fish depended on the number of spawn that hatched the previous year, Prof. Schembri explained, and this number was influenced by both climatic and biological factors.

Marine biologist Alan Deidun said the link between a reduced lampuki catch and increased shipping activity by Libya was “a bit tenuous”.

“Nothing is fixed in the sea. The lampuki shortage could be an indication of changes in environmental variables, but it could equally simply be a natural cycle,” he said.

Fernando Boero, a marine biologist at the University of Salento, Italy, said that warmer weather could have shifted lampuki’s migratory patterns.

“Summer this year has stretched later into the year. It’s been the warmest September on record for many Mediterranean countries. Lampuki traditionally arrive in Maltese and Sicilian waters towards the end of summer – so it may be the case that the fish will arrive later in the year, when the weather cools down.”

Beatriz Morales-Nin, a marine ecologist and lampuki expert at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Mallorca, Spain, also spoke in similar terms.

“Catches in Mallorca have also been smaller than those of previous years,” she confirmed.

“This is probably related to the weather. The lampuki captured by the fisherman are juvenile fish born around June, when water temperatures are over 18º Celsius,” Prof. Morales-Nin explained.

Mediterranean weather was relatively cool in July but unusually warm in September and October. According to Prof. Morales-Nin, this could likely mean a delayed spawning season, which would also account for the smaller size of lampuki being caught.

If warmer weather patterns persisted over the years, fishing patterns would change to suit them, Prof. Boero suggested.

“Grape picking season came earlier this year, because of the warmer weather. If this shift in climate became the norm, fishing seasons would obviously shift accordingly.”

According to Dr Deidun, there is already evidence of climate-induced shifts in Mediterranean biodiversity.

“There is a meridionalisation process underway in the Mediterranean,” he said. As the sea warms up, fish that generally thrived in the southern parts of the Mediterranean basin are being found further north.

“Lampuki, like any other migratory species, will respond to such a process”.

There was one further potentially ominous piece of news for lampuki fishermen. Lampuki, Prof. Morales-Nin explained, tend to be more abundant in stormy weather. But a report on Maltese climate trends released by the National Statistics Office last week found that Malta’s weather is becoming fairer and calmer.

If such climatic changes become permanent, lampuki fishermen may well be forced to keep casting their kannizzati (floats) further ashore.