Underwater marine park to be established off Qawra Point

A yellow cardinal buoy was yesterday moored off Qawra Point, symbolically laying the 'first stone' of Malta's first designated underwater marine park.

A group of divers from the Professional Diving Schools' Association led by Emi Farrugia left St Paul's Bay to moor the buoy, made available by Azzopardi Fisheries who have tuna pens close to the proposed park.

The buoy will flash a yellow light every five seconds. The proposed park is to have a radius of 500 metres.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Farrugia said the diving schools had applied to the Planning Authority in 1995 to set up such a park.

A request has been made to the PA for the setting up of the park. A full development application would not be needed because the park does not constitute a development as such, he said.

The marine park action committee had passed on to the PA detailed reports about the seabed of the site and the marine life it sustains.

Diving schools had realised that unless they took the initiative to set up marine parks, no one else would, Mr Farrugia said.

The action committee will be organising a public awareness campaign of this pilot project. Other sites that could be turned into marine parks include Cirkewwa, Comino and Dwejra in Gozo, Mr Farrugia said.

The project is being supported also by the Malta Tourism Authority, Nature Trust and local amateur diving clubs, mainly Calypso Diving Club and the Amphibians Diving Club.

Mike Upton, chairman of the Professional Diving Schools' Association said Malta was "desperately losing dive sites due to development and it was time to rectify the situation".

About 80,000 divers and people accompanying them came to Malta last year and apart from wrecks, divers came here to appreciate fish life, which they were able to see best in marine parks, Mr Upton said.

Mr Upton said the marine park project had got this far due to Mr Farrugia's "persistence and perseverance".

In the run-up to yesterday's mooring of the cardinal buoy, the committee had in September 1997 presented an environment impact assessment to the PA.

In July 1999, the mv Imperial Eagle, a former Malta-Gozo ferry, was scuttled in the area earmarked for the marine park to form the main attraction for divers. In May 2000, a concrete statue of Christ was removed from its original position further inland and taken to its present location.

Placed 15 metres away from the wreck of the Imperial Eagle, the statue forms a secondary attraction.

The cardinal buoy, positioned at GPS coordinates N35' 57.885 E14' 26.086 is attached to the bow section of the Imperial Eagle.

The marine park will have four concentric zones. Zone A, the core area of the park, with a radius of 50 metres from the buoy will be strictly a no-boat-traffic zone. This includes sailing boats, windsurfers and jetskis.

Zone B, with a radius of 150 metres from the buoy, will be strictly a no fishing zone. Zone A and B will form the area comprising the park.

Zone C, the primary buffer zone, will have a radius of 300 metres from the buoy. No fishing of any sort will be allowed in this zone.

Zone D will form the secondary buffer zone with a radius of 500 metres from the buoy. Only rod fishing will be allowed in this zone. All other forms of fishing including spearfishing with and without scuba equipment will be prohibited.

The four zones will eventually be marked so mariners will be able to observe the proposed rules.

It is planned that surveillance will be carried out by the Administrative Law Enforcement, the Armed Forces of Malta marine squadron and the diving schools.

Toni Azzopardi of Azzopardi Fisheries accompanied the divers to lay the buoy.

Azzopardi Fisheries would be extending all assistance they can to diving schools to establish the marine park, Mr Azzopardi said.