A total of 2,400 tonnes of fish worth €12.3 million were caught by Maltese fishermen last year, with smaller vessels netting about a third of the landings, according to an EU report.
The fishing fleet consisted of 1,040 registered vessels in 2014. They spent a total of about 28,000 days at sea, down 16 per cent from 2012.
The number of vessels has dropped by 21 per cent (276 vessels) since 2008.
While the small-scale fleet decreased significantly, more landings, in terms of weight and higher average prices, resulted in a 10.3 per cent increase in the value of landings, which was up from €11.3 million in 2011.
The Maltese fishing fleet consisted of1,040 registered vessels in 2014
The increase was reflected in a rise in employment in 2012, when the fleet provided 425 jobs.
The data was reported in the 2014 annual economic report on the EU fishing fleet, which also stressed that improvements were required in Malta’s data reporting.
The report notes that, in 2012, swordfish catches produced the highest landed value (€3.6 million) by the national fleet, followed by bluefin tuna (€1.4 million), common dolphinfish (€1.2 million), giant red shrimp (€0.9 million) and surmullet (€0.6 million).
The major factors causing the increase in value was probably a higher demand for some species, such as mackerel and round sardinella, used as bait for longliners and for feed in aquaculture farms.
Income generated by the Maltese fleet in 2012 was €13.2 million. While this was an increase over 2011, high operating costs left minimal profit.
The Maltese fleet is highly diversified, with a broad range of vessel types targeting different species in the Mediterranean. Seven of the active fleet segments made net losses in 2012 and four posted an overall profit (information is lacking for eight segments).
A large proportion (68 per cent) of the fleet consists of small-scale vessels under 12 metres.
There are also 40 vessels between six and 12 metres long that use hooks targeting a variety of species, mainly by using surface and bottom longliners. Surface longliners target mainly large pelagic species such as Atlantic bluefin tuna, swordfish and common dolphinfish while bottom longliners target demersal species such as longnose spurdog, red scorpion fish and red porgy.
In 2012, the total value of landings was just under €1.3 million. The 40 vessels mentioned above reported a net profit of €0.2 million.
The fleet also has 16 vessels between 18 and 24 metres long, also using surface and bottom longliners and targeting similar species to the slightly smaller vessels. For this segment, the total value of landings was about €2.6 million with a net profit of €88,000 in 2012.
There are also 14 demersal trawlers that target a variety of species but in particular deep-water species, such as deep-water rose shrimp, giant red shrimp and surmullets.
In 2012, the total value of landings from this segment was almost €2.3 million. The fleet segment was not profitable that year, with a reported net loss of €1.1 million.
The report states that no Maltese expert was available at the Working Group to provide information on the development trends of the national fisheries fleet.