The Fisheries Sales Unit processes the fish sales notes, sales notes issued for sales made at the fish market, sales notes that cover the sales made directly by the fishers to the consumer and sales notes made by the agent.

All sales notes are entered in a computerised system (Fisheries Information System) through which the department compiles information about sale of fish, including the weight of each species as well as the price and value, for statistical purposes.

Amongst the most abundant fish caught and sold by Maltese fishers we find Swordfish, Dolphinfish, Bluefin Tuna, Pilot fish, and Dog fish. These species contribute to about 75 percent of the total catch.

Among the most priced fish and the ones that are normally offered in restaurants, we find Common Sea Bream, large-scale Scorpion Fish, John Dory and Blue-Spotted Bream.

However, there are species of fish which, although are not popular with the consumer, are very beneficial to our body because they contain large amounts of Omega 3, a type of fat which is required for our health. Among these species there is Mackerel which are fished mostly in the months of May, June and July.

Maltese fishermen catch the various species of fish during different seasons throughout the year. For example, Bluefin Tuna is caught mostly in May and June, while Dolphinfish is caught between August and December.