Concern over Bluefin tuna fishing and penning

The Biological Conservation Research Foundation (BICREF) is concerned with the increasing fishing effort for Bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. The number of purse-seiners is increasing exponentially, as may be appreciated by observing the number of purse-seining vessels in Grand Harbour (at least 30 such vessels close to the Fisheries Department) during the windy days of May and June this year.

Each purse-seiner's catch exceeds the annual (May to July) catch of all the Maltese fishermen.

BICREF last week stressed the need for local authorities to discuss at international levels the lack of sustainability of the ongoing increase in Bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean close to the Maltese Islands.

It is also necessary to consider the impacts of tuna penning on this constant increase in fishing effort, as BICREF has already advocated in previous years. It expressed the hope that, as the tuna spotter planes were informed of their illegal actions and asked to depart from the Maltese Islands earlier this month by local authorities, other irresponsible actions likely to strain sustainable fishing should be stopped.

Local fishermen's decreased catches this year are already indicating the level to which the impact of drastically increasing fishing effort in the area are having. Increased fishing vessel numbers and their improved fishing technologies are affecting the true quotas of fish caught with smaller boats and less efficient techniques.

BICREF asked in a statement: Are we going to hope to resolve the current fishing problems by increasing Maltese fishermen's fishing gear and effort, or by demanding that sustainable fishing, that depends on conservation and responsible fishing conduct, is actually in order in all countries that fish in international waters?

At a time when a revival and appreciation of artisanal fishing or smaller-scale fishing activities are being promoted worldwide, because of their consideration of the environmental and sustainable needs, large-scale operations are being allowed to flourish. The Maltese Islands have a lot to contribute to promote respect for such smaller-scale and sustainable activities, especially when dealing with increasingly vulnerable natural resources.

Hopefully, these problems will also shed light on the increasing impact of opening a fishing area around the Maltese Islands for EU Mediterranean fishermen to use without any detailed consideration and monitoring of how this area will be exploited and affected by the new fishing efforts. Funds to increase fishermen's gear will not solve the problem if an area will be over-exploited, BICREF said.