The fish farm wars

Summary

Malta's planning database contains ~60 genuine aquaculture and fish farm applications spanning 1993 to 2026 — a small number that belies an extraordinary saga. The industry went through four distinct phases: a wild-west 1990s with hatcheries refused everywhere from Żebbuġ to Xagħra; a tuna gold rush in 2001 when five offshore operators filed simultaneously; a dramatic 2016 mass revocation where the full Planning Board unanimously revoked 10 fish farm permits in a single session (11-0, three separate votes, zero dissent); and an immediate resurrection where the same operators obtained new permits within months. Today, Malta is formalising the arrangement it fought over for two decades: a permanent North Aquaculture Zone for 5,000 tonnes of tuna. The entire industry has been controlled by a handful of families — principally the Azzopardis, the Caruanas, and the Elluls — whose names cycle through the database across three decades.

Key findings

Phase 1: the wild west (1993–2000)

The earliest fish farm application in the database is PA/00481/93 — Fish & Fish Ltd requesting "installation of marine cages for fish farming" at Ħofra ż-Żgħira, Marsaxlokk. It was eventually granted, then revoked 23 years later.

The mid-1990s saw a scatter of speculative hatchery applications, most refused:

Mr Joe Bonnici of Xagħra was particularly persistent — he applied for a hatchery at Għajn Lukin three times (1995, 2000, 2001) and was refused every time.

The late 1990s saw the first tuna applications. In December 1998, Carmelo and Anthony Azzopardi filed two near-identical applications for "tuna penning in offshore cages" — one at Sikka l-Bajda off St Paul's Bay (PA/07377/98, eventually revoked) and one near Sannat (PA/07379/98, withdrawn). The tuna era had begun.

Phase 2: the tuna gold rush (2001–2002)

2001 was the pivotal year. Five separate operators filed tuna farming applications in rapid succession:

In 2002, the applications continued: PA/00040/02 (Joseph Caruana / Fish & Fish Ltd) sought to extend to 1,200 tonnes of bluefin tuna at Ħofra ż-Żgħira. The Department of Fisheries itself applied to sanction existing rectangular fish cages (PA/02498/02) and an existing tuna pen within AJD Ltd's site (PA/02499/02) — the government retroactively legalising industry infrastructure.

Phase 3: the 2016 reckoning

By 2016, the fish farm operators had been operating for over a decade — many with illegal extra cages that exceeded their permit conditions. The crisis came to a head with a series of media reports about surface oil pollution and environmental damage.

On 5 September 2016, the full Planning Board convened an extraordinary session. The Enforcement Directorate presented evidence against all operators. What followed was one of the most dramatic hearings in the database.

The operators' defence:

• Dr John Refalo (Fish & Fish Ltd) argued that extra cages were required by ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) for traceability — different catches from different vessels had to be kept separate. He warned that revocation "will destroy the tuna fish farming industry" and that banks were already threatening his clients.
• Prof Ian Refalo argued that since operators had agreed to remove illegalities, revocation was unnecessary and would force all tuna to be "set free and the cages dismantled immediately."
• Dr Pio Valletta (AJD Ltd / Azzopardi) argued the state should regulate rather than revoke — at the time of original permits, "locally there was little experience on fish farming operations." He cited €150 million in industry value.
• Dr Franco Vassallo (MFF Ltd) warned of financial ruin.

The board's response:

• Dr Robert Abela (future Prime Minister): "The fish farms as existing today are already illegal. This problem should not be shifted onto the Authority."
• Prof Victor Axiak: The aquaculture zone was approved in 2005 and confirmed by court in 2014. Operators had over a decade to relocate and chose not to. No monitoring reports had been submitted for years.
• Mr Ryan Callus MP: Called the situation "unacceptable" — Malta had invested millions in clean seawater infrastructure only to have it "hampered by negligence from the fish farm operators."

The board gave operators two weeks to reach an agreement. When they reconvened on 21 September 2016, the operators had submitted statements of intent but two insisted their documents remain confidential. The board rejected this.

Each operator admitted to illegal cages:

• AJD Ltd: Extra cages added in 2009, 2010, and April 2016 (4 additional cages)
• MFF Ltd: Illegal 50m diameter cages installed March–September 2016; illegal sea bream cages since 2011
• Fish & Fish Ltd: 6 illegal 50m diameter cages installed in 2014

The vote was taken in three batches. All three were unanimous — 11 in favour, 0 against, 2 not present:

A fourth vote revoked PA/07377/98, PA/00983/01, PA/02763/03 (Azzopardi Fisheries / AJD Ltd).

10 fish farm permits revoked in a single session. The oldest — PA/00481/93 — had been in the system for 23 years.

Phase 4: the resurrection (2017–present)

Within six months of the mass revocation, the same operators were back with new applications — and this time they were approved:

The "temporary" relocations became the basis for a permanent arrangement. PA/04811/19 (filed March 2019, still pending) proposes a formal North Aquaculture Zone for 5,000 tonnes of tuna. PA/05908/23 (filed April 2023, still pending) would convert the temporary tuna farming area established under PA/02175/18 into a permanent one.

Meanwhile, the Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture built itself new headquarters at Marsa Quay 2. The original plan (PA/01516/19) included aquaculture labs and Class 8 aquaculture facilities. The amended plan (PA/03800/20) converted the aquaculture space to offices — the government building an aquaculture department that doesn't actually do aquaculture.

The operators: a family business

The entire industry is controlled by a remarkably small group:

The Azzopardis have been the most resilient. Despite having 3 permits revoked in 2016, Charles and Anthony Azzopardi obtained new tuna cage permits within months and have since expanded their land-base operations at Marifresh in Naxxar from 2 to 3 warehouses.

Overall outcomes

The refusal rate for marine aquaculture applications (~20%) is higher than the PA system average (~15%), but the revocation of 10 permits in a single session is without parallel in the database. No other industry has faced a comparable reckoning.

Why this matters

The fish farm saga is Malta's planning system at its most consequential. The database captures a 30-year arc: from a nascent industry filing speculative applications in the early 1990s, through a gold rush as bluefin tuna became enormously valuable, to a decade of tacit tolerance as operators exceeded their permits, to a dramatic public confrontation where future Prime Minister Robert Abela told operators that their farms were "already illegal." The 2016 revocation session — with its legal arguments, ICCAT regulations, threats of bank action, and unanimous 11-0 votes — is the most detailed and dramatic board hearing in the entire 69,000-entry minutes database.

Yet the aftermath shows the system's limits. Within months, the same families obtained new permits. The "temporary" relocations became permanent. The aquaculture zone proposed in 2005 and upheld by court in 2014 is still not formally established in 2026 — though PA/05908/23 is working on it. The fish farm wars demonstrate that in Malta's planning system, even a total revocation of permits is not the end of the story. It's barely the end of a chapter.