Sea grass survey welcomed

Alternattiva Demokratika has welcomed that a national survey is being conducted on Malta's sea grass, the Posidonia Oceanica, as recently announced by the government.

AD said in a statement environmentalists have long been stressing the importance of this vulnerable marine forest and it was obvious that the study would only be carried out due to the EU accession process.

"The precautionary principle should have established sustainable policies to ensure the protection of Posidonia Oceanica long before the decision to carry out this valuable survey.

"Unfortunately, the calls by environmentalists regarding the destruction of Posidonia meadows due to the construction of a yacht marina at Portomaso were ignored by both Nationalist and Labour administrations, and the Lm50,000 fine imposed on the developers for destroying the meadows could at best be considered as a joke."

AD also asked what precautions had been taken in the Cirkewwa and Balluta waterpolo pitch developments.

AD is currently carrying out a survey of the coast at Pembroke together with Nature Trust to verify whether the proposed sailing club will harm the rich Pembroke coast and marine life.