LevelPressureLess12PassiveMobile

LevelPressureMore12Passive

LevelPressureMore12MobileSeabed

LevelPressureMore12MobileOther

ImpactPressureSeabedHabitats

ImpactPressureFunctionalGroup

ImpactPressureExploitedFish

ImpactPressureExploitedShellfish

ShelfCoarseSed

FishDemersal

ShelfSand, ShelfMud, ShelfMxdSed, UBathSed

FishDemersalElasmobranchs, ReptilesAll, BirdsAll

The activities contributing to this pressure constitute the different types of fisheries used in Malta, which may result in the depletion of fish stocks and non-targeted species captured as by-catch. Pressures on the marine environment are particularly attributed to towed fishing gears, namely trawling which results in disruption of the seabed and changes to the benthic community structure. Surface longlining is also associated with a potentially significant level of by-catch of marine reptiles, although the extent of such impact still needs to be assessed.

• NotReported

Stock assessment data is limited and is only available for a limited number of stocks. However given that the fish stocks targeted by Maltese fishers are shared with other countries, stock assessment should be carried out at a regional scale for such assessments to be meaningful. Malta will continue to collect data in line with the Data Collection Framework and further efforts will be made to make best use of the Fisheries independent data in the absence of stock assessments.