[New] It-Tunnara

JosephCUTAJAR

Tuna fishing is a long-standing tradition throughout the Mediterranean, where fishing for bluefin tuna "thunnus thynnus" has been practised since 8000 BC. Malta is no exception as its fishermen have been catching the fish for generations, making it a most important industry

One of the most sought-after seafood dishes in Japan contains bluefin tuna. Japanese tuna buyers and chefs managed to teach islanders to eat raw tuna; its flesh has gone from being considered poor people's food to a prized delicacy They use it mainly for their gourmet palate of bluefin tuna sushi and sashimi Malta and San Pietro, off Sardinia, are among the biggest producers and exporters to Japan of this prized fish when it comes to Malta, due mainly to the tuna industry, Japan is one of the few countries in the world with whom Malta exports more than it imports In fact, it exports more tuna to Japan than it imports Japanese vehicles

Maltese producers, export around €230 million worth of the product there every year, and today, the industry accounts for approximately 1% of Malta’s GDP In Malta there are some tuna catches from open fishing, however, most tuna exports are from several fish farms spread around generating a total revenue of €228,583,000 Malta’s largest tuna company is AJD Tuna of Azzopardi Fisheries company that has 24 pens full of tuna that are around 40 metres deep and 50 to 90 metres wide It has the capacity to produce 3,500 metric tonnes of fish per year,

The fish are kept in large underwater cages, (pens) and fattened Each pen is fed 10 tonnes of fish every day The bluefin