newsare.net
Azzopardi Fisheries has said an application to double the number of tuna cages at its offshore farm is necessary because the quality of its tuna has been hit by the imposed relocation. The operator has applied to increase the number of cages at Sikka l-BajdaRelocation of pens ‘reduced tuna size’
Azzopardi Fisheries has said an application to double the number of tuna cages at its offshore farm is necessary because the quality of its tuna has been hit by the imposed relocation. The operator has applied to increase the number of cages at Sikka l-Bajda from 12 to 24. The extra cages will not hold any additional tuna but will ensure that the fish have sufficient space to allow them to reach optimal size before harvesting. The farm was relocated from St Paul’s Bay last year on the Planning Authority’s orders after tuna farms around the island were identified as the source of oily slime which plagued beaches and coastal areas. The relocation was intended as a temporary, two-year measure until the approval of a designated aquaculture zone on the same site. In a Project Description Statement, the operators said that as a result of the relocation, stocking density in the permitted cages was double that of previous years, such that the tuna did not grow to full size due to excessive competition in a relatively small area. They also said that due to delays in the permitting process, much of the purchased tuna had to be kept on tow for a considerable period of time before they... Read more