According to the Times of Malta, in the first quarter of 2008, 136,246 kilograms (+52.9 per cent) of fresh fish, yielding €367,446, were landed. The marked rise in both volume and wholesale value resulted from increased landings of Swordfish and Shrimp, by 206.6 per cent and 67.2 percent respectively, when compared to the same period last year.
Swordfish landings, being the main species landed in this quarter, rose by 215.3 percent, from 16,707 kilograms in the first quarter of 2007 to 52,677 kilograms in the first quarter this year. In terms of weight, Maltese fishermen landed 77.3 per cent of the total landings, up by 1.4 percentage points (+1.8 percent) over the corresponding period last year.
Maltese fishermen earned €739,009 (+77.4 percent) in the first quarter of 2008, as a result of an increase in fish landings, with prices remaining fairly stable.
Landings Rise, Earnings Up
MALTA - The volume and wholesale value of fish landings rose by 52.9 percent and 72.1 per cent respectively in the first three months of this year compared to the first quarter of 2007, the NSO said today.