AD points to discrepancies in tuna farming figures

The office of EU Commissioner Joe Borg has confirmed a number of discrepancies in the figures quoted by the Maltese tuna farm industry in a letter to Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green party said.

"The EU Commission not only confirms the discrepancy in the figures for Maltese-caught tuna given by the Japanese and the Maltese authorities but also that there are five different Maltese tuna farms with cages in six different sites registered. Of these tuna farms, two have actually not declared any caging information," AD chairman Arnold Cassola said.

"What seems a bit strange is also the fact that one of these Maltese farms has got two different ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) register numbers," Prof. Cassola pointed out. The letter also said the Commission was waiting for the definitive statistics for 2008, to be ready in March 2009, to see what concrete action is to be taken.

AD's spokesman on sustainable development, Carmel Cacopardo, said "the big business tuna industry has not only become unsustainable but it is also killing Maltese traditional fishing and threatening the livelihood of small fishermen, who use sustainable methods".

AD believed Maltese fishermen should be protected and helped. "It is unacceptable that big business is left to pillage and plunder our common resources and flout regulations and rules put in place to ensure sustainability and a level playing field for all," it said.