Bluefin Tuna
In
Malta, three Bluefin Tuna farms operate from a specifically-assigned
Aquaculture Zone 6 km off the South-eastern coast, while another two farms are
located within another offshore aquaculture zone in the North of Malta.
The tuna farming technology used in Malta is similar to that of other
Mediterranean countries, namely Spain, Croatia and Turkey. Generally, fish are
caught in international waters by purse seines during the months of June and
July. They are then transferred to the cages where they are fed on raw fish,
depending on farm management and requirements. The fish are kept in the cages
until they are harvested and exported between October and January as fresh or
frozen products mainly to Asian markets (Japan). The size of the exported fish
depends on the size of fish caught from the wild and generally range between 80
and 250 kg.
As all farmed tuna are caught from the wild, the sustainability of fish
stocks and coastal ecosystems is a matter of concern for various bodies.
Assessments carried out by the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) indicated strong declines in the spawning stock biomass
since 1993 (FAO/GFCM/ICCAT, 2005). Following these indications, strict control
measures have been implemented and quotas have been established for each
country through a multi annual recovery plan. The full implementation of this
recovery plan led to recent stock biomass increases and the stock is no longer
considered to be overfished and no overfishing is taking place. Notwithstanding this positive result, the
industry’s continuous demand for the exploitation of this resource creates the
need for more research whereby Atlantic bluefin tuna juveniles are produced for
aquaculture and relieving the pressure on the wild stocks.