Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1161926
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 SEPTEMBER 2019 NEWS expensive price due to the tastier meat the fish develops as it ma- tures. "Larger fish have more meat, are tastier, and customers prefer them, but the quality has remained the same across the board," one fishmonger said. Owners of popular fish restau- rants were also asked how the price drop has affected them. The owner of the Marsaxlokk restau- rant La Capanna said that while low prices can only benefit the customer, restaurateurs will still look to buy larger fish. "While prices have dropped, especially for the smaller lampuki, I still look to buy the bigger fish, as they look better in displays and people get more for their money," he said. The owner insisted that the quality of the meat was still good as of now, but the bigger fish are easier to eat and customers prefer them. Marine biologist Alan Dei- dun said that the large spawn of younger lampuki at this stage of the season can be attributed to this year's late winter, which in contrast to previous years dragged on into the month of June. "Lampuki are a migratory spe- cies, so they reproduce according to the environmental cues around them," Deidun explained. "Hor- monal instincts are what drive the fish's reproduction cycle, there- fore having migrated at a later stage due to colder waters, breed- ing occurred at a more advanced stage." Deidun also warned that, al- though still early in the season, the harvesting of such a large number of younger specimen before they have laid eggs could have some sort of impact on the population. Lampuki fisherman Anthony Zerafa told MaltaToday that while the large catch of juveniles has benefited fishermen who sell their stock fast, he was still apprehen- sive about what the future holds. "The season looks as if it will be a good one, but come tomorrow we may not catch a single fish." Zerafa said fishermen will always hope to be able to sell the fish at a slightly more expensive price, but both fisherman and fishmongers must make do with what they have. "We need to sell as much of the fish we catch as soon as pos- sible, so when you have a larger abundance it's only natural for the price to drop," he said. The prices for the remainder of the season may not necessarily remain low, according to Zerafa, who stated that as the size and amount of fish caught varies, so do the rates at which they are sold. Despite the large catch of juve- niles, Zerafa said that he and his colleagues have already started noticing larger fish in their catch. "The warmer weather is favouring us, as the warmer the water, the larger the fish get," he said. And while the season looks to be a favourable one, it is still far off from what it used to be back in his Zerafa's father's days. "My dad's trawler used to bring 200 crates of fish after a trip. Nowadays trawl- ers who fish in the same waters come back with 20 to 30 crates on a good day," he said. A hearty meal: low prices of lampuki at this stage in the season have seen hawkers selling one kilo of the first batch of smaller-sized lampuki, at just €3.50. This hawker in San Gwann can be seen cleaning out the fish for his clients