The Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights Alicia Bugeja Said attended the presentation of the Fish Residue Automated Processing (FRAP) plant in Ghammieri.
The FRAP plant is part of the BYTHOS Extend project, which was developed by the University of Palermo through an Interreg Italia-Malta funding program, part of the European Regional Development Fund. The plant came to Malta at the invitation of Professor Alan Deidun, academic at the University of Malta and representative of Malta within the BYTHOS Extend project.
The FRAP plant arrived in Malta on October 25, as part of its journey from Sicily to the city of Lipari, with the aim of making demonstrations within different fishing communities. This plant is able to stabilize the byproduct of different species of fish and jellyfish. The use of this byproduct has the potential to be used in other areas, including the pharmaceutical industry, which use offers potential for new economic niches.
Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said described this project as another certificate of the potential of science and research, in favor of new economic opportunities within the Mediterranean region, including in our country. “The BYTHOS Extend project is already bearing the desired fruit. Through the new laboratory in San Lucian, which was launched thanks to these funds, we are continuing to spur different advances. These advances are strengthening the economic efficiency, and the environmental sustainability of the fishing and aquaculture sectors in our country. This FRAP plant is another important step that has great potential for ports and small communities like those in our country. I look forward to new technology, such as this plant, being introduced permanently in our country,” concluded Parliamentary Secretary Bugeja Said.
Photos: MAFA_PS