A community of full-time fishermen operating from Marsaskala have serious concerns about the new plans for a yacht marina in the locality. According to Transport Malta’s published plans in the call for investments, Marsaskala Bay will be submerged in jetties for about 700 yachts. Extensive parts of the sea in different parts of the area will also be overtaken by land reclamation. This will spell the end of the bay’s current fishing activities. 

Fishermen currently use Marsaskala Bay to prepare for their fishing trips. They use the bay to load and unload the limestone slabs used in fishing for lampuki and for soaking the palm fronds in water to prevent them from drying up. The bay is also used for the cleaning and repair of trammel nets and it is also where long lines for swordfish are opened and checked for knots. Yacht marina jetties, pleasure boats and other related activity will dominate this space making it impossible for fishermen to work from.

A yacht marina also means that fishermen will not be able to tie their boats to the shore but will need to start using jetties. This means exceeding difficulty in loading bait, diesel and ice and unloading the catch from boats. Swordfish catches are impossible to unload from jetties either because this requires the use of cranes. Many fishermen also have permits to sell catch directly from their boats which they will no longer be able to do from a yacht marina and their fishing boats tied to jetties.

Beyond all this, there is serious concern that fishermen will not be able to hold on to their place in the bay once it becomes a yacht marina.

So a yacht marina isn’t simply an inconvenience but a threat to the livelihood of the fishermen of Marsaskala. 

The community of full-time fishermen’s concerns continue to add to the widespread protests against the yacht marina from firework and village feast associations, fishing enthusiasts and residents who enjoy this bay for swimming and social activities. A yacht marina and related activities in the heart of Marsaskala are bound to destroy the cultural life of the village to make way for the wealthy and their yachts.

Today, Maraskala’s fishing community joins other organisations and residents in calling for the withdrawal of Transport Malta’s plans and to insist that there should be no yacht marina in Marsaskala.

Yacht Marina f’Wied il-Għajn ser thedded l-għajxien tas-sajjieda

Għadd ta’ sajjieda li joperaw minn Wied il-Għajn jinsabu inkwetati ferm mill-pjanijiet għal yacht marina fil-lokalità. Skont il-pjanijiet ippubblikati minn Transport Malta fis-sejħa għall-investituri, il-bajja kollha ta’ Wied il-Għajn ser tispiċċa maħnuqa minn puntuni li jservu madwar 700 jott, kif ukoll ser jinqerdu partijiet kbar mill-baħar permezz ta’ reklamazzjoni massiċċa tal-art f’diversi punti. Dan kollu se jkun ifisser id-daqqa tal-mewt għal ħafna sajjieda li jużaw il-bajja u x-xatt tagħha għall-attività essenzjali għas-sajd.

Preżentament il-bajja ta’ Wied il-Għajn tintuża sabiex is-sajjieda jippreparaw il-materjal kollu meħtieġ għas-sajda tagħhom. Fost affarijiet oħra, fl-istaġun tal-lampuki, jinħatt, jinħadem u jitgħabba fuq id-dgħajjes il-ġebel li jintuża fis-sajd għal-lampuki, u l-palm jinżamm marbut fl-ilma sabiex ma jinxifx. Fl-ispazju madwar il-bajja, ix-xbieki tal-pariti jinfirxu sabiex jitgħaddew u jitnaddfu, u l-konzijiet tal-pixxispad jinħallu sabiex jitneħħewlhom l-għoqiedi. Il-yacht marina ser tieħu l-ispazji kollha għall-puntuni, il-jottijiet u l-attività marbuta magħhom, u għaldaqstant dan ix-xogħol tas-sajjieda se jkun impossibbli.

Barra minn dan, il-yacht marina ser tfisser li d-dgħajjes mhux se jkunu jistgħu jorbtu iktar mal-mollijiet iżda se jkollhom jibdew jorbtu mal-puntuni. Dan ser jagħmilha diffiċli ħafna li jitgħabbew il-lixka, il-karburant u s-silġ fuq id-dgħajjes, u li tinħatt il-qabda tal-ħut. Fil-każ ta’ qabda ta’ pixxispad, din żgur ma tistax issir mill-puntuni għaliex teħtieġ l-użu ta’ krejnijiet. Ħafna mis-sajjieda għandhom ukoll permess ibigħu l-ħut minn fuq id-dgħajjes tagħhom, xi ħaġa li mhux se tkun iktar possibbli bil-yacht marina, bid-dgħajjes tas-sajjieda marbutin mal-puntuni.

Fil-fatt, hemm ukoll dubji serji dwar kemm is-sajjieda se jkunu jistgħu jżommu posthom f’din il-bajja ladarba din tinbidel f’yacht marina.

Il-yacht marina mhijiex ser tkun sempliċiment ta’ inkonvenjent għas-sajjieda li joperaw minn Wied il-Għajn, iżda ser tkun qed thedded l-għajxien tagħhom. 

It-tħassib tas-sajjieda full-time jkompli jżid mas-sentiment mifrux kontra l-yacht marina li diġà ntwera minn dilettanti tan-nar u tal-festa, minn sajjieda u baħħara dilettanti kif ukoll mir-residenti u dawk li jgawdu din il-bajja għall-għawm u għall-attivitajiet soċjali oħra. Bil-yacht marina u l-faċilitajiet assoċjati magħha, il-qalba ta’ Wied il-Għajn – li magħha ddur il-ħajja kulturali tar-raħal – ser tinqered sabiex tagħmel spazju għas-sinjuruni bil-jottijiet. 

Għalhekk, is-sajjieda illum ingħaqdu mal-bqija tal-għaqdiet u r-residenti l-oħra sabiex jitolbu li tiġi rtirata s-sejħa ta’ Transport Malta u sabiex jisħqu li m’għandu jkun hemm ebda yacht marina f’Wied il-Għajn.