In the fourth quarter of 2008, the volume and wholesale value of fish landings decreased by 8.9 and 2.3 per cent respectively over the same period last year.

Fish Landings: Q4/2008

Fish landings in the fourth quarter of 2008 amounted to 219,005 kilograms, down by 8.9 per cent over the comparative period in 2007. The drop in volume resulted from a decline in the fish landings of the two main species, Dorado and Swordfish, by 17.4 and 16.9 per cent respectively. On the other hand, the other major species registered increases in fish landings, from 10.8 per cent for Bogue landings to 374.1 per cent in the landings of Dog-fish. Similarly, the wholesale value of fresh fish landings decreased by 2.3 per cent, from €1,034,521 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to €1,010,248 in the corresponding period last year on account of lower catches.

Regional overview

During the period under review, Maltese fishermen landed 119,361 kilograms of fresh fish, resulting in a decline of 29.3 per cent when compared to the comparative period of 2007. The decrease was due to significant drops in Dorado and Swordfish landings, by 59.7 and 16.6 per cent respectively. Overall, fresh fish landings by Maltese fishermen represented 54.5 per cent of total landings, down by 15.7 percentage points over the same period in 2007. The wholesale value of fish landings by Maltese fishermen fell by 13.6 per cent, from €815,667 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to €704,985 in the corresponding period last year, on account of declines in the volume of the main species landed. These declines affected the wholesale value of Dorado and Swordfish which fell by 53.0 and 7.5 per cent respectively.

In the fourth quarter last year, Gozitan fishermen landed 95,485 kilograms of fresh fish, an increase of 35.5 per cent over the corresponding period of 2007. Dorado, being the dominant species landed, advanced by 35.4 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2007. As a result, Gozitan fish landings contributed to 43.6 per cent of total landings. The wholesale value generated by these landings was €285,306, up by 33.5 per cent over the comparative period in the previous year. This rise was primarily due to an increase in the wholesale value of Dorado landings (+40.9 per cent), on account of higher catches of this species.

Foreign vessel landings

Landings by foreign-flagged vessels went up by 304.2 per cent from 1,029 kilograms in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 4,159 kilograms in the fourth quarter of 2008. These landings represented 1.9 per cent of the total catch. Their wholesale value increased by 290.7 per cent, from €5,108 in 2007 to €19,957 in 2008.

Indices

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish price index for the period under review stood at 132.0 points, up by 6.9 points (+5.5 per cent) over the corresponding quarter in 2007. In contrast, the quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish volume index decreased by 6.4 points (-8.9 per cent) in the fourth quarter of 2008

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