Call for end to overfishing

Nature Trust (Malta), the environmental NGO, has welcomed the visit to Malta of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament.

According to studies by the General Fishing Commission of the Mediterranean, 88 per cent of commercial species in the Mediterranean are over fished, the NGO said.

It said immediate action to safeguard the livelihood of the fishermen and their families should be taken while maintaining fragile ecosystems.

Such action would include the use of more environmentally friendly fishing gear, the fishing only of adult specimens, a tough stand against illegal fishing, including the use of explosives, greater controls on tuna farms and a moratorium on such farms.

Nature Trust said marine protected areas should be encouraged, managed and funded to allow fishing-free breeding areas for fish. Fishermen who leave marine protected areas to fish elsewhere should be compensated.