Government considers scrapping plans to relocate fish farms off Gozo

A Planning Authority hearing on a proposed fish farming zone off Qala was postponed on Thursday on the request of the Fisheries Ministry.

This is the second time that such a hearing on the planned development has been postponed on government’s request.

The decision is being interpreted as an indication that government is likely to scrap the relocation plans altogether.

The proposed North-East Aquaculture Zone, close to Qala and Comino, submitted back in 2019, was aimed at enlarging the area for the fattening of tuna. It would have covered up to 3.4sq.km and would serve to relocate tuna farms in the north of Malta to the area.

In 2020, the government had already suspended this application, however the two-year period in which an application can remain suspended at planning stage lapsed and a hearing was scheduled for today.

Sources close to the parliamentary secretariat for fisheries suggested that the latest postponement signals a lack of enthusiasm by the government to pursue the original application, although no formal decision has yet been made.

“While the tuna fattening, industry is an important niche for the blue economy and has in the past years showed increased potential for investment, the government believes that its expansion should not come at the expense of pristine ecological marine zones within Malta’s limited coastal areas,” the sources said.

But the proposed zone may not be fully compatible with existing uses, they added. “It would take up important fishing areas as well as be in the vicinity of key touristic areas, thereby impacting these economies as well as intensifying coastal conflicts.”

The sources said the government’s apparent change in direction on the North-East Aquaculture Zone dovetails with the administration’s commitment towards sustainable oceans and its drive to improve the quality of life.

Malta’s Multiannual National Plan for the Development of Sustainable Aquaculture, endorsed by the European Commission last year, underscores government’s intention to explore new practices and the diversification towards new species, good husbandry practices, innovative disease management practices, investing in state-of the-art technology and equipment, as well as seek ways to reduce the environmental impact of aquaculture.