Malta expresses reservations on Brussels tuna ban

Malta agrees that the European Commission should use its powers to stop the overfishing of bluefin tuna stocks but it expects to Brussels to tread carefully so as not to penalise law-abiding member states.

Speaking during yesterday's Fisheries Council meeting in Luxembourg, Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said that the recent decision by the European Commission to close purse-seine tuna fishing a fortnight before its traditional deadline meant that Maltese purse-seiners have to suffer the consequences together with those that have overshot the quota.

"We have reservations about the unilateral decision taken by the Commission. The EU executive knows well-enough that Malta has not yet reached its quota and, in fact, has only caught some 70 per cent of its allocation.

"The Commission, even through the independent observers on board all Maltese purse seiners, has the exact real-time data on how much tuna is being caught. The Commission's decision is putting a financial burden on Maltese operators," Mr Pullicino argued.

The minister said that, while appreciating the intervention by Brussels to safeguard the future of the tuna fishery, Malta hopes that more talks will be held on next year's season so that this year's situation is not repeated.

Malta has only two purse-seine fishing boats and these are considered to be the main culprits responsible for the reduction of tuna fish stocks in the Mediterranean over the past years. However, the majority of Maltese fishermen use traditional methods to catch tuna and they are not affected by the ban.

Sources close to the tuna industry told The Times that the Commission's decision will mainly affect the tuna farm industry in Malta, which, according to Brussels, can no longer accept tuna deriving from purse-seine fishing. This, according to the sources, will result in a loss of millions of euros to Maltese fish farm operators.

The decision to shut the tuna fishing season by purse-seiners was taken by Maltese Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg following data that this year's global European quota was about to be reached.

Meanwhile, more illegal tuna fishing activities close to Malta's shores are being reported.

Oceanea, a marine conservation organisation, said that the crew of the organisation's oceanographic vessel, the MarViva Med, observed in the south west waters off Malta the fishing operations of a group of Turkish fishing vessels accompanied by tug boats with tuna fattening cages. Among this group, Oceana observers noted two vessels flying Greek flags.

The organisaton said that "illegal fishing is very common in this area".