BirdLife Malta strongly condemns the presence of the so-called “Noma Island” floating entertainment platform in the vicinity of Comino – one of Malta’s most ecologically sensitive and legally protected sites.
Comino is designated as a Natura 2000 site and is surrounded by a Marine Protected Area, recognised for its critical importance to wildlife, particularly pelagic seabirds such as Yelkouan Shearwaters and Scopoli’s Shearwaters, which depend on dark, quiet environments for successful breeding. The island also forms part of Malta’s recognised dark heritage sites, where artificial lighting after sunset is restricted, and any introduction of light pollution is not only harmful but incompatible with existing protections.
The Noma Island platform – a large-scale floating entertainment venue designed to host hundreds of people – has already faced rejection internationally due to environmental and regulatory concerns, and has also been met with clear opposition from Maltese local councils, as widely reported in local media. Despite this, it has now been positioned adjacent to Comino, a location where such activity is entirely inappropriate and incompatible with the island’s protected status.
Comino is already under extreme and unsustainable pressure from intensive commercial exploitation, with years of poorly managed activities turning parts of the island into a cash-driven operation that prioritises short-term profit over the protection of public land and natural heritage. The introduction of a high-capacity entertainment platform in such a context represents a further intensification of this pressure, inevitably bringing increased noise, artificial lighting, and marine traffic, all of which contribute to the degradation of this fragile environment.
The impact on seabirds cannot be overstated. Pelagic seabirds nesting around Comino are highly sensitive to artificial light and noise, with light pollution known to disorient fledglings and lead to grounding, injury, or death, while disturbance from noise and human presence disrupts breeding behaviour and can result in nest abandonment. The presence of such a platform in close proximity to a key breeding site is therefore both reckless and ecologically irresponsible.
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has a clear legal obligation to safeguard Malta’s most sensitive natural sites, in line with its mandate to protect, conserve, and enhance the environment for present and future generations. In this context, BirdLife Malta expects immediate and decisive action to ensure that this platform is removed from the vicinity of Comino and that such operations are not permitted within or near Natura 2000 sites or other environmentally sensitive areas.
This situation reflects a broader and deeply concerning trend, whereby environmentally damaging activities are increasingly normalised within protected areas, undermining both national and European environmental commitments. Protected areas must be respected in practice and not reduced to nominal designations, and public natural heritage must not be sacrificed for private gain under the guise of commercial activity.
Comino is not for sale. It is a national and ecological treasure, and its protection is a legal and moral responsibility. BirdLife Malta will be ready to safeguard this island for the benefit of the common good.
Read our press release in Maltese here.
