Blog 1 - Tuna Fish farming in Malta

This submission aims to discuss the issues related to commercial tuna fish farming (aquaculture) in the Maltese Islands.

Tuna fish farming involves catching juvenile tuna that have not had a chance to reproduce from the wild and growing them on in cages where they are fed on large amounts of small pelagic fish such as sardines and anchovies, taking as much as 20 kg of wild fish to produce 1kg of tuna.

It is clear that aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of the world food economy and production is expected to exceed catches from wild fisheries. Aquaculture in Malta is expected to grow accordingly to service this demand however so far it is has developed way in advance of adequate environmental and public health safeguards.

However, while fish farming has been the subject of much controversy, there is no doubt that the aquaculture industry is a strong player in the Maltese economy. This dichotomy of benefits and risks requires an urgent need for better planning towards improved organization and management of the industry, including improvements towards genetic stocks, improved feeds, improved marketing and product presentation, as well as a better understanding of fish health practices.

References:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091217/local/maltas-tuna-quota-slashed

http://www.fishonline.org/farmed/finfish.php

1) How this problem evolved over time.

Marine aquaculture started in Malta in 1988 when the National Aquaculture Center (NAC) was setup with the primary aim of taking advantage of Malta’s excellent seawater temperatures which range between 14^oC and 28^oC, giving Malta an advantage over other European countries that experience a colder climate. Since then countries such as Malta, Italy and Spain have become hosts to the largest tuna farm operations worldwide that supply Asia and Japan for its use in sushi.

The gross output of fish sales from the aquaculture industry in 2008 amounted to 6,727 tonnes, of which 5,035 tonnes were due to tuna sales. More recently scientists concurred that Mediterranean blue fin tuna was on the verge of collapse and that the international trade in the species should be banned. The scientists concluded that the spawning biomass amounted to under 15 % compared to when tuna fishing began, meaning that blue fin tuna met ICCAT's criteria for protection. Consequently EU ministers, in December 2009, agreed to make further cuts to the amount of blue fin tuna that can be fished next season, and Malta was allocated a total quota of 161 tonnes for 2010, down more than 45 per cent from 2007.

Unfortunately the sector is still relatively in its infancy in Malta, and a lot of entrepreneurs have joined the fray in the hope of a quick buck, leading to a proliferation of small units and uncoordinated development that have created numerous problems which are still in need of resolution. In fact this intensification of aquaculture production has led to the industry being regarded as one of the leading polluters of the aquatic environment.

References:

Macallister Elliot and Partners. “Forward study of community aquaculture”. (1999) MacAllister Elliot and Partners, Lymington. http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/doc_et_publ/liste_publi/studies/aquaculture.pdf

“Aquaculture: 2008”. National Statistics Office. 13 November 2009. http://www.nso.gov.mt/statdoc/document_file.aspx?id=2623

Agius Carmelo. “Strategies for aquaculture development in a small Mediterranean island state: Malta”. Department of Biology, University of Malta. http://ressources.ciheam.org/om/pdf/c43/99600253.pdf

Staniford Don. “Sea cage fish farming: an evaluation of environmental and public health aspects (the five fundamental flaws of sea cage fish farming)”. http://www.salmonfarmmonitor.org/stanifordpaper.doc

2) Variables that should be tracked over time to illustrate the evolution of the problem.

Many argue that tuna fish farming is drastically reducing tuna fish stocks and biodiversity in the sea. Also penning close to shore is having a negative impact on coastal and marine ecology, polluting the surrounding areas and water quality, and affecting tourism. Impacts of tuna aquaculture activities on the marine environment over time include numerous variables, namely:

1. reduced tuna fish stocks in the Mediterranean sea
2. changes in the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the location in which cultivation takes place,
3. organic enrichment,
4. increased biological oxygen demand,
5. changes in benthic populations,
6. development of bacterial resistant traits,
7. changes in the marine food webs,
8. exchanges of cultured individuals with wild organisms and
9. the introduction of alien species.

References:

“Fisheries Operational Programme for Malta. 2007-2013.” October 2008. http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/structural_measures/op/malta_en.pdf

3) The system within which this problem exists and its "hard" elements (things that can be fairly easily counted or measured) and "soft" elements (things that are not easily measured or quantified, such social or political factors).

Proper monitoring can lead to the further development of Malta’s aquaculture industry and ensure that Malta protects the sea while exploiting this immense resource in harmony with nature, and with little impact on competing users.

Hard elements of tuna fish farming that can be monitored include:

• data on fish outputs
• data on fish mortality
• sampling of marine benthic diversity (flora and fauna living on the seabed)
• sampling of biotic assemblages (collections of plant and animal populations that are characteristic of specific habitats)
• sampling of water quality including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, nitrate, phosphorus, ammonia, total bacteria count, faecal coliforms, turbidity
• sampling of sediment quality, namely granulometry, and organic carbon and organic nitrogen content
• records of input into the environment, e.g. feed, chemicals

Soft elements that are much harder to measure and monitor include:

• impact on world tuna fish stocks
• pollution to coastal areas
• impact on water quality in coastal areas
• impact of fish escapes on biodiversity

References:

http://www.ajdtuna.com/monitoring_enviroment.html