It was revealed recently that a temporary yacht marina has been proposed along the Ta’ Xbiex Coast Road between Gzira Gardens and the Water Polo Aquatic Sports Club of Ta’ Xbiex. This proposal for a temporary summer marina for whatever the length of time could later become a regular one and destroy marine life.
No one knows if the consultants, ECORYS of The Netherlands, conducted any on-the-spot studies and what impact assessment studies have been carried out, as this part of the shore has very shallow water filled with millions of various young fish fries, including shrimps, snails, worms, octopus and other small breeding marine life. Could anyone publish parts of these feasibility studies confirming that motor crafts or yachts will not do any harm in this area while operating in shallow waters and that they won’t cause any marine environmental destruction?
If this is for just three or even 12 or 36 months only, it would still probably cause very serious harm to regular breeding stocks of fish in this particular area within just one or two months of their presence. First and foremost, by changing this area into a marina it would change the pattern of sea currents, causing the erosion of littoral and sub littoral sediment of the area and its deposit, like the present sand slopes that are being formed on the coastline area. As it is a very shallow area, filled with vegetation and various small marine life (fish, snails, worms, etc), this would not only be endangered but eliminated forever. Therefore, someone must protect the present marine life forms or biota of this particular area. Unless someone cares, these could end and their destruction is now imminent, including all ecological marine communities that live and breed within this particular area.
The coastline contains various cemented and intertwined loosely coiled shells of gastropods (snails) and worms, which are embedded in a matrix of coralline algae. If a large amount of diesel, oil and other sewage material is unexpectedly and unintentionally released, it would endanger all existent marine life forms in this area.
The main land area is also very important for the breeding of large and small fish that spawn during winter and summer, which include lacci, sargi, mullet, accola, awrata, cawla, cerna, dott abjad or tal-faxxi, hanzir tal-fond, imsell, kahlija, makku, and vopi. Unfortunately, I have seen the destruction of all sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus or “rizzi”) that used to inhabit this particular area in great abundance, but it seems we don’t care that the present pollution caused by motor boats in ports can cause irreparable damage to our coastal vegetation.
One must remember that boats disturb the aquatic environment with emissions and exhaust, propeller contact, turbulence from propulsion system, waves produced by movement, noise, and other movements. In turn, each of these can have multiple negative effects on the aquatic ecosystem. The sediment resuspension, water pollution, disturbance of fish, the destruction of aquatic plants, and shoreline erosion are the main areas that are cause for great concern.
From studies carried out on a similar environment, on “the effect of motorized watercraft on aquatic ecosystems,” by Timothy Asplund of the University of Wisconsin, USA for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Bureau of Integrated Science Services, stated,” Now that this proposed site contains a large stretch of shallow sea bank, therefore, water clarity is most important for a number of reasons. To affect the ability of fish to find food, the depth to which certain aquatic plants can grow, dissolved oxygen content, and water temperature. It was established that water clarity is often used as a measure of trophic status, or an indicator of ecosystem health.”
The area proposed at Ta’ Xbiex has very shallow water and a very large number of small fry breeding fish, would be 100 per cent disturbed by yacht activities. One has to remember what Timothy Asplund reported – that “propellers may disturb the bottom directly or indirectly through the wash or turbulence they produce, and especially when close to shallow water.” In his study he reports, “This may affect water clarity by increasing the amount of sediment particles in the water or may cause nutrients that are stored in the sediments, such as phosphorus, to become available for algal growth.”
He further stated, “Nutrients can affect the algal growth, beside the effect on the water clarity. The dissolved oxygen and pH levels influence the type and abundance of fish. In fact, with time the amount of metal and hydrocarbons can be toxic to fish and other microscopic animals that can be found in this particular area.”
Finally, in his report he mentioned that “boat engines are designed to deliver a large amount of power in a relatively small package. As a result, a certain amount of fuel that enters into a motor is discharged unburned, and ends up in the sea. This is not the fault of boat owners, as it is a normal occurrence. In fact, two-stroke engines (imagine what the much larger engines do!), which make up a vast majority of yacht motors in use on all types of sea crafts, have been particularly inefficient. Yet it was estimated that it would vary as to how much fuel may pass into the water column (25-30 per cent is a reasonable average) and depends on factors such as engine speed, turning, oil mix, and horsepower.”
This area is now in danger of total destruction and one cannot but remember that these shores have on their rocky shoreline various other life forms covered with different vegetation and other life forms such as the breeding of small shrimps, worms, squid, octopus, and many others. Why should we allow a disaster for our marine life in this particular area to happen?
Everyone can protest against this by accessing the following website: http://taxbiex.epetitions.net
Joseph Meli
TA’ XBIEX