The volume and wholesale value of fresh fish landings advanced by 62.9 per cent and 83.4 per cent respectively in the first quarter this year over the comparative period of 2009.

Fish landings in the first quarter of 2010 amounted to 133,620 kilograms, an increase of 62.9 per cent over the comparative period last year. This was due to an increase in landings of the major species. Swordfish, the dominant species landed, advanced by 80.7 per cent over the first quarter of 2009. Similarly, the wholesale value of fresh fish landings went up by 83.4 per cent to €873,881 in the first quarter. The period under review saw a rise of 6.0 per cent and 9.7 per cent in the wholesale prices per kilogram for Swordfish and Bogue respectively. The other species all showed a decline in their wholesale price per kilogram.

Regional overview

Maltese fishermen landed 104,634 kilograms of fresh fish during the period under review, an increase of 85.3 per cent over 2009. The increase ranged from 129.4 per cent in Dog-Fish landings to 4.0 per cent in Bogue landings. Swordfish, the main species landed during the first quarter of 2010 went up by 74.3 per cent over the comparative period last year. Fish landings by Maltese fishermen represented 78.3 per cent of total landings. The wholesale value of fish landings by Maltese fishermen rose by 83.7 per cent to €757,594 in the quarter under review. This resulted from the overall increase in fish landings for the first three months of 2010.

Gozitan fishermen landed 25,571 kilograms (+10.6 per cent) of fresh fish during the first quarter, making up 19.1 per cent of the total landings. Dorado and Swordfish landings advanced by 247.9 per cent and 221.9 per cent respectively. Shrimp was the only species which registered a decline in landings. The increase in the volume of fresh fish landings was also reflected in the increase of wholesale value generated by these fishermen. This amounted to €97,088, an increase of 85.1 per cent over the comparative period last year.

Foreign vessel landings

During the quarter under review, foreign-flagged vessels landed 3,415 kilograms, 40.5 per cent higher than the comparative period in 2009. Fresh fish landings by foreign-flagged vessels made up 2.6 per cent of the total catch. Their wholesale value registered an increase of 67.3 per cent, from €11,479 in the first quarter of 2009 to €19,199 in the period under review.

Indices

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish price index for the first quarter this year stood at 142.0 points, up by 11.30 points (+8.6 per cent) over the comparative period in 2009. The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish volume index stood at 40.0 points, reflecting a rise of 15.46 points, or 63.0 per cent.

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