Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1363129
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 APRIL 2021 NEWS congregate in large numbers to feed in the Pelagos Sanctuary in the north-western Mediter- ranean, the region's largest ma- rine protected area designated by France, Italy and Monaco to protect marine mammals. However, their destination during the rest of the year remained, u n t i l 2015-2016, a matter of debate, until the issue was set- tled through the deployment of satellite tags on a small number of adult fin whales through the collaboration between the Gen- eral Direction for Land and Sea Protection of the Italian Minis- try of the Environment, in the framework of the ACCOBAMS Agreement. Satellite tags were deployed on fin whales known to briefly appear in the waters surround- ing the small Italian island of Lampedusa, in the Strait of Sic- ily, towards the end of winter (February-March). "The project was commissioned to obtain specific data and information on movements and possible migra- tion routes of fin whales and on their habitats in the waters sur- rounding the island of Lampe- dusa, and to verify and confirm the previous limited sighting data, allowing to correlate this information with those from the north-western Mediterranean within the Pelagos Sanctuary," Deidun said. The Strait of Sicily is character- ized by the presence of fin whales and other cetacean species, to assess areas of the Mediterrane- an Sea that could require target- ed protection and conservation measures, as well as for the iden- t i - f i c a - tion of potential threats and the implementa- tion of mitigation measures. Deidun said in particular, the waters of the island of Lampe- dusa are considered as a win- ter feeding area for fin whales, which feed on the surface thanks to the abundance of krill, the small crustaceans which the whales feed upon, different from that of the Ligurian Sea, by div- ing to depths over 470m. lcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt 50-100 throat gloves that ectend to navel. Lower 'lip' is white on the right side, but dark on the left side Flat head with no slope or angle toward the tip of snout Over 160 large boats for Kalkara's 'mooring bays' in latest TM plans JAMES DEBONO BERTHS for 331 boats will occupy the Kalkara bay in a request by the infrastruc- ture ministry for mooring bays, presented in 2019. The latest plans envisage 161 berths for large 8-10m long boats, 90 for under-6m boats, and 80 berths for mid-sized boats (6-8m). The berths will practically occupy the entire inlet along Triq il-Mandraġġ, Triq Ma- rina and Triq ix-Xatt. Berths for smaller boats will be lo- cated closer to the inlet facing the Kalkara Square, while those for larger ones will be located along Triq il-Mandraġġ opposite the existing marina. Previous plans last year foresaw 305 berthing spac- es for boats ranging be- tween 4.5-9m, over a total 35,000sq.m area. The present yacht mari- na already covers an area of 21,000sq,m in front of a boatyard in the vicinity of Bighi. Last year the Superintend- ence for Cultural Heritage expressed concern about the intensity and formal lay- out of the proposed mooring bays, calling for a more or- ganic layout to minimise the impact on views within this area of high scenic value. In October 2019, Infra- structure Minister Ian Borg insisted that the application was limited to a reorgan- ization of existing berths, assuring Kalkara residents that the Kalkara marina "will not be growing by even one centimetre". In its project statement, Transport Malta said the project would create "a uni- form mooring arrangement" that maximises the inlet's capacity, instead of the cur- rent random and haphaz- ard arrangement of moored boats. But TM also acknowledged that the project will allow for the increase in the num- ber of large boats berthed in the inlet, resulting in the "increase the overall num- ber of boats moored in the area." One of the expected im- pacts will be the disturbance of views of the Birgu bas- tions and Kalkara, which form part of the Area of High Landscape Value of the Harbour Fortifications. This will result in a negative impact on the harbour views from the pedestrian prome- nade. The project statement suggested that capping the number of large vessels mooring in the inlet could mitigate the adverse visual impact, as well as installing their mooring buoys in areas exerting the least visual im- pact in the inlet. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt