Some of the discarded small spotted catsharks seen at Żurrieq last weekend. Photo: Matthew Montebello/Scuba World

At least 10 small spotted catsharks were seen discarded by fishermen in shallow waters in Żurrieq last weekend, undermining conservation efforts to release the same species into Maltese waters.

Various reports and photos of the sharks appeared on social media sites condemning the unnecessary killing of a species that has no commercial value.

Such sharks are usually discarded because they are the ‘bycatch’ – unwanted species trapped by commercial nets while fishing for a different one, according to marine biologist Alan Deidun.

A project at the National Aquarium run by Sharklab is seeking to preserve the species, among other sharks inhabiting Maltese territorial waters.

It is a long and painstaking process, which draws into focus the effort required to reverse the damage to marine life caused by unsustainable fishing practices.

Once fished out, they were simply discarded since they have little commercial value

Commenting on the small spotted catshark, which individuals discarded in Żurrieq last weekend, Dr Deidun said: “What a waste. Once fished out, they were simply discarded since they had little commercial or edible value. All this talk of sustainable fishing seems to be lost on some people.”

“Education is the only solution. We need to change perceptions,” Dr Deidun said, while pointing to conservation efforts at the National Aquarium focused on the same species.

The man behind the project, Greg Nowell, was the one who identified the discarded fish in Żurrieq.

He said it was “not unusual” to encounter discarded small sharks, such as the small spotted catshark.

“They’re most likely caught either using deep nets or long lines set near the bottom because, generally, the species being found tend not to live near the surface,” Mr Nowell said.

The project he leads at the National Aquarium took off at the end of 2011 when collecting data on landings at the fish market.

“At the fish market we encountered some eggs in a box of sharks and we took them not really sure whether they would hatch or what would happen. To our amazement they started to develop,” Mr Nowell said.

Since then, the team has been collecting eggs from sharks landed by the fishermen at the fish market, including the small spotted catshark and another species, the nursehound.

They collect the eggs by performing a Caesarean section on pregnant sharks about to be sold. The eggs are then placed in a controlled environment at the National Aquarium allowing them to develop and the ‘pups’ are later released into the water.

Last February, three shark pups from the nursehound species were released into the sea at Ċirkewwa. The results have emboldened the team to pursue these efforts further.

“At the moment, we have 71 small spotted catshark species developing, 27 nursehound eggs. We also have seven pups that hatched over the last four months, which are due to be released in June,” Mr Nowell said before revealing a breakthrough.

“We also have nine skate eggs, and with one of those we are happy to say we have an embryo developing – this is the first one we’ve ever achieved. So we’re actually quite excited,” he said.

The skate belongs to the family of rays.