Malta Seabirds Project launched
The Malta Seabirds Project, funded by EU Life+, was launched this morning by Environment Minister Mario de Marco and BirdLife at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana.
The principal aim of the project is to identify areas at sea that are important to the survival and successful breeding of Maltese seabirds.
This will be done through the use of the latest technology available to track birds at sea, including Global Positioning System tags that can collect information about the birds' location thousands of miles from land.
Boat based observations will yield information about important feeding and resting areas at sea. This information will then be collated to identify Important Bird Areas within the 25 nautical mile Maltese Exclusive Fishing Zone.
Dr de Marco congratulated BirdLife and its partners for securing EU Life+ funding for the project, which, alongside three other successful Maltese initiatives was selected from over 700 projects proposed by other EU states last year.
The minister highlighted the importance of the project within the context of the overall challenge of conserving biodiversity, which was under pressure from human activities and factors such as climate change.
"But even though these threats are not unique to Malta, we have to be particularly vigilant. Malta also has the highest population density in the EU, which makes our biodiversity especially vulnerable to pressures from human activities," Dr de Marco has said.
"The project will gather scientific knowledge about the status of important seabird species, which will enable us to design measures for their conservation," he added.
BirdLife said the Maltese islands are internationally important breeding grounds to Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea, Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan and European Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis.
On land, breeding colonies of these species enjoy a protected status as designated Special Protected Areas forming part of the Natura 2000 network.
However, Malta is obliged by the EC Birds Directive to protect also the marine habitat within its waters where these seabirds spend much of their lives.
"Little is known at present where the key foraging areas of the focal species are," Benjamin Metzger, head of research in the Life+ Malta Seabirds Project said.
The project, which is 50 per cent funded by the EU's Life unit, is the second in Malta focusing on seabirds, following the successful completion of the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project in 2010. The project will follow up and expand its research on Malta's seabirds to identify important sites at sea for them. The project will work closely with Mepa, the authority responsible for the Natura 2000 network of protected areas in Malta, to propose these areas for designation as Marine Special Protected Areas.
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John Borg
Jan 27th, 17:23
inkomplu narmu l-flus fil-bahar. F'Malta dan it-tajr m'ghadux jinqatel mill-kaccaturi kif kien isir dari. ahjar nonfqu l-flus u nsibu mod kif in-nassaba jsibu zvog mhux inhallu kollox f'idejn il-birdlife, li kkapparraw kollox w ghamlu kullimkein taghhom. anke biex tidhol l-ghadira jew is-simar, li huma postijiet publici, sirt trid tmur x'hin ikun komdu ghalihom
Ivan Calleja
Jan 27th, 18:52
Sour grapes Sur Borg!!! Well done to any initiative promoting conservation of biodiversity in Malta and anywhere around the world!!!
Nicholas Galea
Jan 27th, 18:59
Kontrarju ta' kif milli jidher qieghed tahseb int, Birdlife Malta, appartli li thares l-ghasafar mil-kacca illegali, tistudja ukoll l-ghasafar biex issir taf dwarhom ahjar. Malta hija importanti hafna ghal-dan it-tajr tal-bahar, specjalment ghal-Kangu ta' Filfla u l-Garnija u huwa importanti li nistudjawhom biex insiru nafu fejn iqattghu l-aktar zmien waqt li jkunu qieghdin ifittxu l-ikel fuq il-bahar. Bhekk dan l-istudju ser ikun ta gwida ghalina u ghal-ewropej ohra ta kif ghandna nipprotegu ahjar dan il-wirt dinji. Huwa sinjal ta' injoranza u egoizmu kbir meta wiehed jghid li dan huwa hela ta flus !
Ma tisthix tghid li l-birdlife akkapparrat kullimkien meta l-kaccaturi ghamlu l-maggoranza tal-kampanja u art pubblika taghhom, bnew duri u torrijiet koroh, hazzu kullimkien RTO u jkeccu n-nies u turisti bis-senter ippuntat f'wicchom ? Anke bir-rizervi maghlquin jidhlu u jaghmlu herba kull meta jkun hemm tajra kbira, ahseb u ara kieku kullhadd jidhol meta joghgbu !
Steve Zammit
Jan 27th, 19:33
Ghala qeghdin narmu flus il-bahar? Ghax m'ghadux jinqatel mill-kaccaturi ma iffisirx li l-problemi ohra issolvew. U rigward sparar fuq il-bahar veru naqas hafna imma sfortunatament ghad issib xi ruh tajjeb li ghad johrog fuq il-bahar biex jispara fuq dawn il-hlejjaq. Il-kacca illegali kienet l-ikbar problema imma ghad baqa hafna problemi li nahseb int suppsot ghandek tkun maghruf bihom: tnissig tad-dawl, sajd, xbiek, grieden, vapuri etc
Ghamlu kullimkien taghhom? int bis-serjeta? Ara jekk jirnexxilekx tmur timxi fil-qalba il-Mizieb fiz-zmien il-kacca b xi tromba imdendla u ara jekk xi hadd jipprova ikeccik min art PUBBLIKA, prova mur imxi f xi wied mimli kaccaturi fis-7 ta' filghodu u ara jekk hadd ma ikelmek biex tmur l'hemm. Uzgur ghamlu kullimkien taghhom !! Il-kaccaturi stess imma ghax laqas art pubblika ma jafu jirrispettaw, minghalihom kullimkien taghhom u l-bqija tal-poplu malti ma jistax igawdi l-ambjent malti ukoll. Xbajt naqla go wicci, nies joffenduni u jajjruni, ikeccuni min art PUBBLIKA ghal xejn b'xejn. Dan kollu ghax nixtieq ingawdi l-ghasafar ta' Malta, izda mhux b xi senter f'idi imma b'tromba. Issa min verament qed jaghmel kullimkien tieghu?
X'tippretendi li se tmur f xi riserva meta rid int? Riservi naturali huma riservi naturali u mhux xi park jew zoo. Anke barra min Malta ir-riservi ghandhom hinijeit tal-ftuh. Kieku anke jien nixtieq li riserva m'ghandix tinghalaq imma xi trid taghmel jekk anke meta imdawwar bil-fences u maghluq bil-gates u tidhol xi tajra rari dahlu biex joqtluh! Fil-passat ricenti dahlu meta kien maghluq ahseb u ara jekk dejjem miftuh. Imma nahseb dan il-kumment fil-vojt ktibtu imhabba l-ghira li ghandek ghax Berdlife akwistaw dawn il-fondi biex wara kollox igawdu l-ghasafar taghna
Int ghandek turi is-support lejn il-Birdlife, li tul l-ahhar snin dejjem kienu l-vuci tal-ghasafar f'pajjizna u ghal protezzjoni taghhom u l-ambjent ta'madwarna !! kieku ma kinx BLM, shabek ghadhom johorgu fuq il-bahar u joqtlu c-cief bi xkejjer, ghadhom jisparaw ghall-kuccard il-buskett post pubbliku u protett u jaghmlu herba fuq kull tajr iehor protett li sa ftit zmien ilu kont ghadek tara l-massakri fil-kampanja. Fortunatament zminiejit qed jibdilu, u l-apprezament tal-ghasafar bil-mod qed jizdied imma il-kumment tieghek iffakarna kemm ghad hawn min ma japprezax dan u dejjem lest imaqdar kif inhu 'komdu' ghalih