Swordfish landings decrease by 23%

The volume and wholesale of fish landings has declined by 12.8% and 13.4% respectively during the third quarter of 2011 compared with 2010.

The National Statistics Office said that fish landings from July until September 2011 amounted to 432,257 kilograms, down by 12.8% from 2010. The decrease was due to a drop in most species mainly Dorado by 26.7% and Swordfish by 23.0%.

Shrimp landings during the same quarter recorded a 10.5% increase over 2010. The wholesale value of fresh fish landings, also declined by 13.4% to €2.2 million.

During this period, Maltese fishermen landed 263,879 kilograms of fresh fish which is 26.0% less than the corresponding quarter of 2010. Swordfish and Dorado landings, which registered drops of 20.3% and 32.9% respectively, accounted for 69.3% of landings by Maltese fishermen.

The wholesale value of fish landings by Maltese fishermen, represented 61.0% of total landing volume which declined by 12.9%, from €2.1 million in 2010 to €1.8 million this year.

Fish landings by Gozitan fishermen increased by 21.3% more than 2010 mainly due to an increase in fish classified under ‘Other Species’.

Gozitan fish landings made up 39.0% of the volume of total landings and generating €323,718 in wholesale value, a drop of 16.6% compared with 2011.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish price index for the third quarter of 2011 stood at 109.39 points, reflecting a drop of 4.31 points or 3.8% over the comparative period of 2010. The volume index of the quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fish recorded a decline of 18.96 points or 12.8%, from 148.29 points in 2010 to 129.33 points in 2011.