In the third quarter of 2008, fresh fish landings at the local fish market amounted to 304,186 kilograms, up by 13.2 per cent over the third quarter last year. This increase was the result of higher landings of Swordfish (+43.7 per cent), Blue Fin Tuna (+57.1 per cent) and Dorado (+3.3 per cent).
Landings of all the other major species decreased when compared to the third quarter of last year. A slight increase of €37,713 (+2.3 per cent) was registered in the wholesale value, from €1,633,461 in the third quarter of 2007 to €1,671,174 in the corresponding period of 2008. Regional overview
During the period under review, Maltese fishermen landed 218,294 kilograms of fresh fish at the local fish market, up by 2.3 per cent over the comparative period last year. Although Swordfish landings rose by 44.6 per cent, Dorado landings fell by 32.7 per cent. By weight, landings of Maltese fishermen represented 71.8 per cent of total landings. The wholesale value of fish landings by Maltese fishermen dropped by 3.7 per cent, from €1,371,183 in the third quarter of 2007 to €1,320,262 in the corresponding period of 2008.
The decline in the wholesale value of fresh fish was mainly attributed to the decline in the volume of Dorado landings, whose wholesale value fell by 43.0 per cent over the third quarter of 2007. This drop was somewhat mitigated by the increase in the wholesale value of Swordfish landings (+22.3 per cent), whose volume rose by 44.6 per cent over the comparative period last year.
In the third quarter this year, Gozitan fishermen landed 83,292 kilograms of fresh fish (+56.3 per cent) at the local fish market. Dorado was the main species landed, indicating an increase of 92.5 per cent over the comparative period last year. Landings of Shrimp and Bogue decreased by 33.6 per cent and 33.0 per cent respectively. Gozitan fish landings made up 27.4 per cent of total landings. These generated a wholesale value of €338,345, an increase of 33.9 per cent over the third quarter of 2007. This rise was primarily due to the increase in the wholesale value of Dorado landings.
Foreign vessel landings
Foreign-flagged vessels landed a total of 2,600 kilograms in the third quarter of 2008, an increase of 30.7 per cent over landings in the comparative period of 2007. Their wholesale value increased by 30.4 per cent, from €9,634 in 2007 to €12,567 in 2008. In the third quarter this year, landings by foreign-flagged vessels represented 0.8 per cent of the total catch.
Indices
The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish price index for the quarter under review stood at 132.79 points, down by 12.52 points (-8.6 per cent) over the corresponding quarter in 2007. In contrast, the quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish volume index increased by 10.61 points (+13.2 per cent) in the third quarter of 2008.