The traditional blessing of trawlers at Marsaxlokk and prayers for a bumper catch seem to have been effective this year, with soaring catches of swordfish and dorado (lampuki) between July and September.

But it wasn’t just down to help from above: fishermen ventured into deeper waters in search of swordfish and their efforts appeared to have paid off.

The hauls rose by 55.3 and 107.1 per cent respectively compared to the same quarter last year, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office.

The volume of all fish landings, as well as their wholesale value, grew by 22.6 per cent and 27 per cent.

Fishermen caught some 452,406 kilogrammes in total while the wholesale value of fresh fish catches advanced to €2.6 million.

Shrimps, stone bass (dott), dog-fish (mazzola), blue fish tuna and bogues (vopi) all regis-tered increases.

However, the increases in swordfish and dorado landings were offset by a 97.5 per cent drop in landings of mackerel, both in Malta and Gozo.

Ray Bugeja, the general secretary of the National Fisheries Cooperative, believes the increase in the volume of swordfish is down to the method adopted by fishermen of casting their net into deeper waters, thereby catching larger fish.

The closed season for swordfish in October, November and March proved to be effective in addressing the problem of depleting stocks, Mr Bugeja added.

In the period under review, Maltese fishermen landed 368,226 kilogrammes (+46.2 per cent) of fresh fish, making up 81.4 per cent of total landings, while Gozitan fishermen landed 84,180 kilogrammes (-28.2 per cent), representing 18.6 per cent.