( T h e t u n n y f i s h g r o u n d )

the island, particularly off the coast of St Paul’s Bay and in the south off Marsaxlokk

Bluefin tuna can grow to 3 7 metres in length, weigh 680 kilograms and live for 30 years In 2018 Malta produced two big tunas (one of 230 kg and the other of 170 kg), which fetched an excellent price – an average of 35 euros per kg That same year fish farms produced 17,326,000kg of tuna, tuna are bred around May – June, and then killed and sold in the last two onths of the year, November and December After the fish are harvested, a few are kept to use for breeding purposes

Fish farms were introduced to Malta in the 1980s Much before that, fishermen who caught the tuna in open waters used the tunnara in Mellieħa, which consisted of two massive long meshed nets, made from the coconut palm, extending at right angles from the coast, and a series of chambers made from vertical nets anchored by stone slabs kept upright by about 500 buoys or cork- floats "sufruni - bagi" , and about 30 anchors and other stones tied to a ropes "mażżri"

First tunnara in

1748

The first Tunnara in 1748 was financed by Grand Master Pinto. The tuna net was elevated and posited at Il-Fgura, in Mellieha Bay, an area known for full-blown bluefin tuna a few kilometres away from the coast

The net, consisting of a wall of netting, which closed half of the bay, was lowered in April and remained in the sea until October Faced with this impenetrable wall, the tuna, continued swimming along the net until several of them found themselves in two large rooms of netting

The first sign that the tuna was in would be given by the small fish, which would begin to jump out of the water and scatter, afraid of becoming the tuna’s prey.

The men used to receive the tuna in the contrive chamber and signal to the head fisherman of the arrival of the tuna From another barkazza a sailor would give the order to open the doors and let the tuna pass into the chamber of death

Seeing this, the fishermen would dip sponges in oil and lower them in the water allowing them to see the fish better If the tuna were in the rooms of netting, the cry of lieva (rise) would be heard The fish would be trapped inside when a door of netting would be pulled to the surface by the fishermen of the largest boat called, ixXieru, which was about sixty feet long and manned by large oars It sailed to the middle of Mellieħa Bay