Ivan Camilleri, Brussels
Malta standing by its opposition to tuna ban
Malta will keep up its opposition to a ban on international trade in bluefin tuna despite a recent change of heart by both France and Italy.
The U-turn by the two countries means there is no longer a blocking coalition keeping the EU from taking a position in favour of the ban.
With Malta's lucrative tuna trade to Japan now highly endangered, a government spokesman said Malta would not be changing its stand. Maltese fishermen, he argued, were not to blame for the depleted stocks of this fishery.
Malta believed tuna stocks could be managed sustainably in line with guidelines issued by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), he said.
"Further reduction in the total allowable catch to a level within the limits set by ICCAT's Standing Committee for Research and Statistics, a further reduction of the fishing season for purse-seiners (special large-scale fishing vessels) and continued efforts to guarantee the compliance of the operators to the present regulations, demonstrates the commitment of all the states involved in this industry to the sustainability of these stocks and related fishery."
He took an indirect dig at the uncontrolled, industrial fishing by French, Italian and Spanish fishing fleets over the years, saying that Maltese fishermen should not be castigated for fishing in a sustainable way, without the use of industrial purse-seiners.
But with France and Italy reversing their original position against the ban, only Spain, Cyprus and Greece now agree with Malta and this is not enough to block an eventual Commission recommendation to support a total ban.
Although the EU Executive has not issued its recommendation yet, it is very likely that it will support the ban in view of the decision to be taken at Doha, Qatar, next month when the UN Convention on endangered species (Cites) meets to decide the future of bluefin tuna.
On the other hand, sources close to the Commission said that although the EU might well push for a ban, the final decision was not a fait-accompli.
"The EU will play an important part in the Doha meeting but so will Japan, which will fight tooth and nail to defend its lucrative sushi market. Rest assured that Tokyo will do all it can to sway the vote of many parties at this convention its way," a Commission official said.
A total ban in international trade would still allow Maltese fishermen to catch tuna but only for the local market.
The Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers has so far failed to reply to questions sent by The Times about the recent developments.
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J. Borg
Feb 10th 2010, 14:50
who is taking this stand?
Pullicino, Gonzi, Cabinet, parliament (with Pl approval)?
We need to know.....as expect that whoever is behind this stand assumes personal liability for such short-sighted (at best) guided by vested interest (at worse) stand!
C Cassar
Feb 10th 2010, 14:44
The simple way to have an effect is to stop consuming Tuna and it's associated products. Tuna, Swordfish and all other "large" fish are bad for your health anyway, containing very high levels of heavy metals which accumulate over their relatively long lives. Best to consume the smaller species that have much shorter lives such as Sardines, Mackerel etc which have much lower levels of these toxins.
It's best to avoid all farmed varieties of fish since they are fed a cocktail of chemicals that speed their growth at minium cost to the business. The same for Salmon from the farms in northern Europe, in particular Scotland. Salmon is not naturally bright pink. Fish are fed a chemical that turns the flesh this colour because the mass populace demands it this colour through their lack of education. Unfortunately, the chemicals involved are carciogenic. Organic/Wild Salmon naturally has a beige flesh colour.
So next time you tuck into your sushi of Tuna/Salmon, remind yourself that it is particularly unhealthy. This doesn't even mention the sticky rice that goes with this stuff which is full of sugar and other additives let alone being refined with little nutrition.
S. Camilleri
Feb 10th 2010, 13:51
"..Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money ..."
Why is Malta being so d*** stupid and hard headed?? We talk of the environment and impose high tariffs related to Carbon emissions and then we practically outlaw plastic bags. Yet we cannot see what is staring us in the face.... Where will the money come from when the last Tuna is caught. We need to stop this opposition to the ban once and for all. The quicker something is done, the better the chance for our Tuna
carmelo aquilina
Feb 10th 2010, 12:13
Can the government ministers and the PN please publish the full list of donations, gifts or services provided for the ministers personbally as well as the party so that we can see that decision is based on hard scientific fact instead of being influenced by the local tuna industry. Transparency will dispel any doubts people might have.
C Cassar
Feb 10th 2010, 11:55
Claiming that Malta doesn't affect the stocks of natural tuna is quite moronic. Malta is part if the EU and should (and will) abide by any EU ruling as such. Malta receives alot of EU funds at the moment and needs to abide by the regulations in order to continue to benefit from these. The fact that Malta has developed an unsustainable Tuna farming industry is caused by greedy Maltese businessmen. For those that are in this industry, they have made huge profits at the cost of a great natural resource since the Tuna farms are stocked by the purse-seiners of other countries, not the Maltese. So greed has finally caught up with these people. We should be glad now they're finished, let's move on.
Jason Borg
Feb 10th 2010, 11:38
I assume this is in line with GonziPN's electoral promise to give the environment top priority.