The Environment Resources Authority is going to take steps to protect the Natura 2000 site at Il-Ballut in Marsaxlokk, but Nature Trust-FEE is pleading for immediate action, saying recent fires show how urgent the situation has become.
“Malta has already lost too much natural area and it is time we truly protect what is left,” it said, noting that recent fires seem to have been caused by vandals.
The site houses an important habitat – a salt marsh environment – which used to host the endemic killifish (buzaq) until the 1990s.
“However, despite various reports to the relevant environment authorities on uncontrolled pollution for nearby pig farms at that time, no action was ever taken and the killifish population in this area all died out,” the NGO said.
The NGO hopes that once the site is fully conserved the reintroduction of the killifish could occur
“In the late ‘80s, the site witnessed the dumping of rubble waste from the construction of the Delimara Power station. Later the dredging of the Marsaxlokk port for the construction of the Freeport continued to change the water currents in the bay so much so that today the area and coastline is being eroded away. Part of the embankment that existed together with parts of the site have been eaten up by coastal erosion. This has also exposed the sensitive part of the habitat to marine litter and debris.
“For years and with the support of the local council, the NGO has been calling for action. NT-FEE Malta feels that with proper management the site can be conserved and turned into an eco-tourism attraction for the area offering education and nature to visitors. Furthermore, NT-FEE Malta was also proposing that the adjacent beach is upgraded and given the ‘Beach of Quality’ status for the benefit of the residents of Marsaxlokk. The NGO hopes that once the site is fully conserved the reintroduction of the killifish could occur. NT-FEE is at the moment doing a breeding programme of the killifish with the Malta Aquaculture Centre in Marsaxlokk, and so far results have been positive.”
The salt marsh is also an important habitat in the South of Malta that attracts various migratory birds. So far some 65 species of birds have been recorded visiting the site