The Fishers Sales Unit (Records) processes the Fish Sales Notes, sales notes issued for sales made at the fish market, sales notes that cover the sales made directly by the fishers to the consumer and sales notes made by the Agent.
All Sales Notes are entered in a computerised system (Fisheries Information System) through which the Department compiles information about the catch and sale of fish, including the weight of each species as well as the price and value.
The most abundant fish caught and sold by Maltese fishers we find Swordfish, Dolphin fish, Blue Fin Tuna, Pilot fish, and Dog fish. These species contribute to about 75 percent of the total catch.
Among the most priced fish and the ones that are normally offered in restaurants we find Common Sea Bream, Large Scale Scorpion Fish, John Dory and Blue-Spotted Bream.
However, there are species of fish which, although are not popular with the consumer, are very beneficial to our body because they contain large amounts of Omega 3, a type of fat which is required for normal health.
Among these species there is Mackerel which are fished mostly in the months of May, June and July.
Maltese fishermen catch the various species of fish during different seasons throughout the year. For example, Blue Fin Tuna is caught mostly in May and June; Dolphin fish is caught between August and December.
Some species, such as Bogue and Hake, are caught all-year round. One should note that in the case of Swordfish, no fishing can take place in March, October and November when the closed season for this species is under way.