The police are investigating a group of fishermen who were yesterday caught fishing over two wrecks in Ċirkewwa yesterday morning, The Sunday Times has learnt.

Sources said the vessel with four fishermen and a dog on board were noticed throwing nets on the Rozi and the P29, two scuttled vessels in Ċirkewwa.

Divers on the scene alerted the Armed Forces and the Police Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) section, but by the time they arrived on scene, the fishermen had lifted their nets and proceeded to fish in another area.

According to the Notice to Mariners No. 5 of 2008, issued by the Malta Maritime Authority, no fishing is allowed around these wrecks since the areas have been designated as conservation areas.

These areas were set by the Veterinary Regulation and Fisheries Conservation and Control within the Veterinary and Fisheries Affairs Division.

The notice states that the areas are considered no stopping areas and that anchoring is only allowed for divers' vessels, only after pre-notification to the Valletta Vessel Traffic Service.

Masters of the vessels must use appropriate signals in accordance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea and the International Code of Signals.

The notice also states that spear fishing and the use of fishing gear, such as set bottom lines, trammel nets, gill nets, entangling nets, and encircling nets, among others, are prohibited in these areas. Only surface fishing is permitted.

Contacted yesterday, Simone Brinch-Iversen, Professional Diving Schools Association spokesperson, confirmed the incident.

She said the association had been receiving several reports of fishing using nets over the scuttled vessels for the past three weeks, but unfortunately, the authorities were never able to go immediately on site.

"We called the ALE, but were told they did not have a boat in the water so we should call the AFM control room. It takes 30 minutes for a patrol boat to arrive from Valletta, so by the time they arrived at Ċirkewwa, the fishermen had raised their nets and left the scene," she said.

The divers gave the AFM the vessel number and they were apprehended about an hour later in Armier. The Armed Forces handed the fishermen over to the police for investigations.

When asked, she said there were about 20 divers in the water at the time but luckily there were no incidents. She also claimed the fishermen sometimes indulged in this illegality at night.

Ms Brinch-Iversen said it was amazing how many people were unaware of this regulation; sometimes even members of the ALE and the AFM were oblivious.

She said that since the most important dive sites were in the north, it would make more sense if an AFM or ALE vessel was located closer to Ċirkewwa.

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