The ducks at il-Magħluq in Marsascala are still proving difficult to capture, and the government is seeking to tap EU funds to remove the waterfowl from the Natura 2000 site.

Over the years, Nature Trust has expressed concern about the state of the Natura 2000 site.

The lagoon, home to the endangered Maltese killifish, or il-bużaqq, is undergoing a conservation project, following repeated appeals to save the marshland.

The introduction of ducks over the years has contributed to the degradation of the protected site, and the transfer of the waterfowl started in May of 2015.

However, more than one year on, there are still ducks on site.

According to the management plan for this Special Area of Conservation, the excessive number of waterfowl not only leads to water pollution but also impacts the salt meadows at the back of the lagoon, as they trample on vegetation and cause soil erosion.

The ducks, meanwhile, directly impact the resident killifish, as they disturb and displace them, while the ducks’ incidental consumption of killifish larvae could have an impact on its confined population. The management plan adds that invasive alien species, such as the mullet, also compete with the killifish.

The ministry carried out an assessment study about dredging the accumulated debris in the lagoon. The application is still at PA evaluation status

Over the years, Nature Trust has expressed concern at the negative impact on the vulnerable killifish. In a bid to save the dwindling population, it acquired Mepa’s permission to take five bużaqq pairs to the Malta Aquaculture Research Centre at Fort San Luċjan, where they are being bred in aquarium conditions.

Passers-by throw food that is left uneaten by the ducks. Their excrement and eggs attract rodents.

Ducks and rats are not the only polluters at il-Magħluq.

The project has proven successful and the results were encouraging, president Vince Attard told this newspaper, noting that the environmental organisation had a stock of killifish that can be reintroduced in the lagoon if the Bużaqq disappeared from there.

Nature Trust has not heard from the Infrastructure Ministry after asking for an update about its conservation plans for the site.

When contacted, a spokeswoman said the Infrastructure Ministry was “looking into EU-funding possibilities to ameliorate the environmental conditions of the protected area and implement solutions to remove the remaining waterfowl population”.

Earlier this year, the ministry told this newspaper that of 100 domesticated ducks on site last year, 57 had been captured, tested against salmonella, avian flu and Newcastle disease, as instructed by the Animal Welfare Department, and relocated to Manoel Island.

Another 23 were found dead and removed, leaving around 20 on site. Since the ducks can fly, they proved hard to capture.

The ministry also carried out an assessment study about dredging the accumulated debris in the lagoon. The application for such dredging is “still at PA evaluation status”, and the outcome is expected by December and January, the spokeswoman said.

These works, the spokeswoman added, were also related to EU-funding possibilities.

More than a year after the transfer of the waterfowl from il-Magħluq, in Marsascala to Manoel Island began, they still populate the protected site.