Ministry confirms tuna farming figures
The Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs said Alternattiva Demokratika spokesmen gave a wrong interpretation of the reply the European Commission gave to the Green party of Malta about tuna fishing.
The ministry strongly rebutted AD's allegations that, in its letter to AD, the Commission confirmed discrepancies in tuna farming figures as supplied by the industry. It said the statement issued by AD about the matter was deceitful.
The ministry said the Commission is in constant contact with the Maltese authorities to clarify allegations against the industry.
The ministry said the letter in question informs AD of details furnished to the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tuna by the Maltese authorities.
As declared on several occasions, the ministry explained, the Fisheries Department insists that the information is correct and can easily be verified.
Furthermore, the ministry explained that Malta is obliged to register with the ICCAT all fish farms having a licence to operate, regardless of whether tuna has already been purchased for the farm or not. "In fact, Malta has two cases where a farm has the licence to operate but doesn't have tuna in its cages," the ministry noted. Contrary to being an irregularity, it explained, this confirms that the Fisheries Department has always done what it was asked to and declared all farms in possession of a licence and which, therefore, can be in operation.
The ministry said there was nothing irregular in a company having two different licences - one in St Paul's Bay and another close to Comino - with the ICCAT. In fact, the Fisheries Department registers the two farms separately in order to ensure transparency and make them traceable. There was nothing wrong in Maltese fish farms having a tuna capacity exceeding Malta's quota as long as the actual stock does not exceed the limit, the ministry said.
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J. Borg
Sep 17th 2008, 22:35
Mr. Galea...maybe you are not aware of the difference between 'national' and National(ist)?
Or has GonziPN's utopia engulfed the minds of many?
L Galea
Sep 17th 2008, 16:04
@J. Borg
If they really have national interest at heart, National interest should come with a capital N not a small one
J. Borg
Sep 17th 2008, 14:59
Guess Messrs Galea & Agius are somewhat confusing things...
AD has always sought to uphold EU REGULATIONS that seek to safeguard individual's rights and the rights of future generations for a healthy environment.
If these just causes happen to effectively fall outside the short-sighted and self centered political agenda of major parties - especially GonziPN - guess it isn't AD's fault after all.
Again let's ensure we're after national interest with the small 'n' not the capital one.
J. Borg
Sep 17th 2008, 11:48
Mr. Agius, who stands to gain/lose from fish farming industry....
Just for yr info....tuna 'farming' is not just a national concern due to pollution they generate and the strangling out of traditional fishermen, but also an international concern due to dwindling tuna population and abuses in the sector.
Maybe we all should hush and fingers crossed that EC will never get to know what might be going on - for fear of eventually facing hefty penalties.
In that case who will foot the bill? The operators, the officials who might have turned a blind eye or two, the party in govt., or the Maltese taxpayer?
Maybe the rush to alternative energy is an eye-opener of AD's proposals over the years which were ignored until too late.
Yes, national interest before anything else - but please ensure it is with a small not capital N!
L Galea
Sep 17th 2008, 11:29
AD is double-faced and its loyalty was never to Malta but to the eu.
Witness the fact that they knew that eu membership would mean trouble for the Shipyards and our industries, yet they encouraged citizens to vote in favour of eu membership.
Now they have the gall to call for unity in the Shipyard case.
Not that unity against the eu is not warranted, but to first call on Maltese citizens to enter into modern colonialism and then tell them to unite against the eu dermocrants in brussels simply shows that you double-faced.
Pierre Agius
Sep 17th 2008, 10:36
I often wonder where lays the loyalty of AD. Is it Malta or the EC. It seems to me that AD has a very servitude attitude towards the Commission. National interest first dear AD, national interest before anything else!