Following Herman Grech's report, 'Sicilian fishermen not involved in boat tragedy' (The Sunday Times, August 3) and comments posted on timesofmalta.com, I would like to point out that there is nothing that I need to apologise for.

There is already enough circumstantial evidence pointing in favour of what Simon Bugeja (the Simshar owner and only survivor) and the other fishermen have been saying about the ill-fated vessel and its crew. There are other issues that have directly and indirectly contributed to the tragedy. That is why I had asked for a public inquiry from the outset, because it is only that type of inquiry that can get us close to a 360 degrees investigation.

It is very evident that there is a cloak of protection around the Director General (Veterinary Regulation Fisheries Conservation and Control) who has much to answer for about the running of his office. I suspect that if he were doing his job properly, the tragedy with respect to the loss of life may have been avoided.

The issue of rows with foreign fishermen is not uncommon at all. The fishermen can vouch that this happens on various swordfish fishing trips. How is the Director General helping in such matters, if at all? If the fishermen have no protection and support I would not blame them if they engaged in a row to recover their fish and expensive gear.

That might also explain why fishermen sometimes dread having to face such circumstances.

The statement that Bugeja was probably fishing illegally sounds irrational. If all the fishermen in the world were fishing with hooks and lines, like he does, we would surely have no problem with overfishing. He is a traditional fisherman practicing sustainable fishing methods. If he had taken a tuna or two it would not have been a big deal. Tuna does come as a by-catch on swordfish lines. If he had a tuna line on board that would have been normal for a fisherman who normally refurbishes some of the gear for another season during the long trips back home.

According to the story, "AFM commander Carmel Vassallo has been reported asking 'was the boat sucked in by the sea, was it hit by a large vessel, did it explode?'"

He is asking because in his search he found nothing that belongs to the Simshar. They did not even spot the makeshift raft and the fishermen struggling for their lives. The questions also highlight that the AFM lacks basic logic.

If the Simshar were hit by a ship or exploded, the sea would have been littered with hundreds of floats and other fishing gear and, in the latter case, most probably, none of the crew would have survived. It seems quite evident, Brigadier Vassallo, that the Simshar was sucked in by the sea after all the things that could float were burnt. Bugeja was lucky to grab some floats to make a raft.

"The fishermen initially blamed the AFM for failing to find any survivors, until it was established that the last automatic signal from the Simshar had been sent when the vessel was still in Marsaxlokk" the report said.

This statement is a very poor attempt to shift the blame from the authorities. The fishermen supplied a very valid position for the Simshar at 8.10 p.m. on July 10. No one can deny this.

Bugeja and the rest of the victims, except for his son Theo, were found after a week by their fellow fishermen just 30 miles northwest from this position, lest someone forgets.