The Directorate believes strongly in education and in conveying sustainable aquaculture principles to the general public through education and promotion. It is currently working to developing enhanced experiences such as these in the near future.
Endangered Aquatic Species Conservation projects:
The Killifish project is a collaboration between Nature Trust Malta (NTM) and The Aquaculture Directorate with ERA as the permitting authority. The main objectives of the project are: 1.To raise awareness and educate the public on the need to preserve the local population of Aphanius fasciatus killifish, known as “Buzaqq” in Maltese language and its habitat. 2.To assist in the management of the Natura 2000 site at il-Magħluq tal-baħar in Marsascala where one of the endangered populations is found. 3.To secure viable populations in captivity of all known local populations of Aphanius fasciatus by means of captive-breeding programs aimed at preserving the genetic diversity of the species in Malta. 4.To study and monitor all the local populations of Aphanius fasciatus. Proġett Qabru is a collaborative project between NTM, Aquaculture Directorate and HSBC Foundation aimed at the study and conservation of Potamon fluviatile lanfrancoi. The project is both scientific and educational, aimed at studying the endemic sub-species of freshwater crab and establish a viable healthy population ex-situ to ensure that it does not become extinct. The importance of P.fluviatile l. is demonstrated to students and the general public through dissemination of educational information and participation in educational activities.
Promotion and information dissemination projects:
• Tiny Teens Science Cafe’ As part of its outreaching and information dissemination initiative, professional staff from the Aquaculture Directorate participate in the Tiny Teen Science Café. This educational annual intiative is organised by the Science Centre Malta within the Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes (DLAP), Ministry for Education and Employment. The Tiny Teen Science Café is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programme is targeted towards Primary School children from Year 3 to Year 6, providing them and their parents/guardians an opportunity to engage in informal discussions with professionals from various sectors to discuss career paths and aspirations. The Directorate of Aquaculture, has been participating in this initiative since March 2021, whereby feedback from organisers, teachers, students and parents/guardians, have been very encouraging and optimistic.
Student projects’ support and mentoring:
• Higher education students can carry out their projects at the Aquaculture Directorate Research Centre and gain valuable experience in fish husbandry or related subjects. Students from the University of Malta and MCAST, as well as foreign universities and institutes carry out their research periods or thesis experiments at the Centre.
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