Fish landings in the fourth quarter amounted to 181,891 kilograms, up by 5.3 per cent over 2014. The main agent was a substantial increase of 99.1 per cent in dorado landings. This was partially offset by drops of 54.3, 40.5 and 40.1 per cent in landings of other species, swordfi sh and shrimp respectively.
In contrast, the wholesale value of landings declined by 2.3 per cent to €0.9 million.
Regional overview
Maltese fishermen landed 141,018 kilograms, an increase of 3.5 per cent over the comparative period in 2014. Landings of Maltese fishermen accounted for 77.5 per cent of total volume.
The main species landed, dorado, went up by 142.7 per cent. The wholesale value of fresh fish landings by Maltese fishermen amounted to €0.8 million, an upturn of 2.9 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year.
Fish landings by Gozitan fishermen increased by 12.2 per cent when compared to the same period last year. This was mainly brought about by increases of 40.1 and 36.4 per cent in dorado and shrimp landings respectively.
In terms of volume, Gozitan fishermen’s contributions amounted to 22.5 per cent of total landings. Wholesale value amounted to €168,066, a downturn of 20.8 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2014.
Indices
The quarterly All Items Fresh Fish Price index for the fourth quarter stood at 100.68 points, a decrease of 13.76 points or 12.0 per cent over the comparative quarter in 2014. The increase in the supply of fresh fish was reflected in the quarterly All Items Fresh Fish Volume index, which stood at 55.82 points, up by 2.83 points, or 5.3 per cent more over the respective period.
