Big fishing zone is of little benefit to Maltese fishermen

It is "not correct" to say that the 25-mile region around the Maltese islands is an exclusive fishing zone, according to Fishermen's Cooperative president Ray Bugeja.

Mr Bugeja was reacting to comments by Sicilian fishermen who are lobbying the Italian authorities to extend Sicily's fishing zone to 25 miles from the present 12 miles.

The issue was raised in the wake of the latest incident, which saw a Sicilian fisherman fined €35,000 for illegal fishing in Malta's 25-mile zone.

Mr Bugeja said it was a "misconception" that Maltese commercial fishermen had a 25-mile zone at their disposal. "What happened to the Sicilian fisherman could have easily happened to any Maltese fisherman who breached the strict conditions imposed on the 25-mile zone," Mr Bugeja said.

He added that the Maltese fishing community was dismayed at the heavy-handedness shown by the Maltese authorities towards Sicilian fisherman Rosolino Paternostro, the master of fishing vessel Maria Salvatrice. "They should have never arrested him and kept him in jail pending the court case. A warning should have sufficed, given this was the first time he was caught," Mr Bugeja said.

The 25-mile region is a fisheries management zone, which Malta had negotiated with Brussels before EU accession. However, it did not grant an automatic right to Maltese fishermen to ply their trade in the area.

In most EU countries, exclusive fishing zones are linked to the territorial waters that are equivalent to 12 miles.

Only boats under 12 metres long can fish in this zone and there are very specific restrictions on the type of fishing that can be done by larger boats. Furthermore, there can be no discrimination between Maltese and EU fishing boats.

"The reality is that the vast majority of Maltese commercial fishermen do not benefit from the 25-mile zone because they have boats larger than 12 metres. There are only 11 large boats that can fish in the zone at specific times during the year," Mr Bugeja explained.

He pointed out that other EU fishermen who satisfied the conditions of the zone could be granted permits to fish within 25 miles, although this was unlikely.

Mr Bugeja said that during negotiations with the EU, the government had wanted to maintain the 25-mile fishing zone it acquired in 1971. However, this was denied.

"What we got was a 25-mile conservation zone subject to strict conditions and that was also open to EU fishermen," he said.

Nello Maialino, a representative of the Portopalo fishermen, has said it was ironic that Malta had a 25-mile fishing zone when Sicily, with nearly three times the number of registered fishing vessels, had a mere 12-mile zone.

A spokesman for the Rural Affairs Ministry said that, although Sicilian fishermen were free to lobby and make requests to amend their fishing areas, the present fisheries zones were established following the principles of the law of the sea and EU regulations.

"Any amendments to fishing zones must follow such principles and necessary procedures. Nevertheless, if and when, any proposal to amend the fisheries zones are made, Malta will surely participate in the discussions at all stages," the spokesman said.

Factbox

Territorial waters
All over the EU, territorial waters are managed by the individual member states and extend to 12 miles out at sea. Territorial waters are exclusive to Maltese vessels.

Fisheries Management Zone
Malta has a special 25-mile zone, which falls under the parameters of a fisheries management zone. After EU membership it replaced the 25-mile exclusive fishing zone acquired in 1971 in accordance with the UN's Convention of the Law of the Sea.

The aim of this zone is to protect the fisheries' resources of the sea area and the ecosystems on which they depend. With few exceptions only vessels smaller than 12 metres are allowed to fish within the zone.

The EU arrangement does not discriminate between Maltese and EU fishermen, so Maltese fishermen who own boats larger than 12 metres lost their right to fish in the 25-mile zone upon membership in 2004.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com