Fishers descend on Marsascala as storm frees bucket-loads of fish from farms

Marsascala’s battered coastline turned into an impromptu fishing spot on Thursday, as Storm Harry freed fish from farms. 

Dozens of fishers lined the sea wall as they collected their bounty of awrat (sea bream).

One fisherman said he had collected a bucket-load of fish in just an hour and planned to eat them all himself. 

Another said he was doing it because otherwise the fish would die, speculating they are unable to survive in the wild.

Fisheries junior minister Alicia Bugeja Said confirmed to Times of Malta that a nearby fish farm suffered damage because of the storm and that sea bream had escaped as a result.

The damage caused by the storm is still being assessed, she said, adding that fish farms located on the coasts throughout Malta were damaged. 

When Times of Malta visited the area, most of the coast at the sea-side locality was full of people wielding fishing rods and catching fish in large quantities. 

Many of the fishermen had buckets full of their catch, mostly awrat (seabream), which are a popular farmed fish including in sites located in the south. 

Buckets of fish in the wake of Storm Harry. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

In February 2019, sea bream began washing ashore in the Xemxija area following a storm, and hobby fishermen continued catching a large quantity of fish for a number of days. 

Back then, a fish farm operator had confirmed that the sudden flood of sea bream came from one of their fish pens. 

Fishers have been hard hit by Storm Harry with videos showing boats, including the traditional luzzu fishing boat, being broken apart at sea. 

Coastal areas were worst affected by the storm, which was at its peak on Monday night and Tuesday, battering coastlines with windspeeds of up to 56 knots, equivalent to 103 kilometres per hour.

On Thursday the government announced a recovery plan after revealing more than 700 emergency calls were made during the storm.

The winds knocked containers into the sea, prompting an appeal for “caution and vigilance” among mariners due to potential hazards at sea.

Prime Minister Robert Abela said the government's plan was to remove immediate danger, repair damage and then regenerate affected areas. 

He said areas affected by the storm, particularly coastal localities such as Għar Lapsi, which was left unrecognisable, Wied il-Għajn, Marsaxlokk, Sliema and Xgħajra “must be restored”.

On Thursday the storm moved from Malta to Sicily, where there were also reports of heavy damage.