EU endorses bluefin tuna ban - Malta only dissenter

John Falzon

Mar 11th 2010, 09:09

Pardon my ignorance but cannot the fish farms simply switch to another type of fish, such as awrat. Surely there must be other species worth farming!

@Andrew Borg

in such a case, none of the hardship you talk about will happen.

H Galea

Mar 11th 2010, 08:31

Our bright boys voted against, you all don't understand a thing,Japan is exploiting our fishermen and many others around the world.I am not against our fishermen in having a catch for local use.Maltese consumers should be first and leftovers if any frozen.

John Betts

Mar 11th 2010, 08:07

Oh dear, I should have been more specific about who I was addressing - I meant: prove it ("The species is not endangered.") Mr Andrew Borg.

John Betts

Mar 11th 2010, 07:52

"The species is not endangered."
Prove it Mr Borg.
Here is some help for you:

http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/smart_fishing/sustainable_fisheries/bluefin_tuna/

http://www.bigmarinefish.com/bluefin.html

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=60

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bluefin-tuna-stocks-threatened-cites-japan-monaco


Quoting the last listed site above:
"Studies cited in the Monaco proposal report that Atlantic bluefin stocks have fallen by about 75 percent from 1957 to 2007, with 60 percent of that loss occurring in just the past 10 years as overfishing has accelerated. Scientists warn that continuing to fish the bluefin at current levels will push the population to 94 percent below the size it was before commercial exploitation began, effectively collapsing the fishery and putting some populations at risk of extinction."

J.Borg

Mar 11th 2010, 00:05

Mela first people stay complaining cause theres not enough money coming in Malta. Issa they complain ax one of the good incomes Malta might have is going to be extinct. Qas tafu xi tridu.

Brad Borg

Mar 10th 2010, 22:13

Let's be clear on facts.

If this ban is confirmed our fishermen will still be able to catch tuna through longlines, and it can be eaten locally.

What will be hit is the fish farming industry. The fish farmers grew too fast at a time when all the signs were already on the wall - it chose not to see those signs because it was blinded by greed.

The Eu worked hard to try and regulate the industry and constantly warned fishermen, farmers and member states that if they continued not to cooperate the end of the bluefin tuna fishery was inevitable.

Well, here we are.

(PS Canned tuna is not bluefin tuna and is not effected by this ban. Most Bluefin tuna doesn't even stay here, it is rushed off to Japan and eaten as sashimi and sushi).

C Galea

Mar 10th 2010, 21:21

Isn't harship part or survival? Let the blue fin tuna live and revive as then you will know what hardship is.

Andrew Borg

Mar 10th 2010, 20:34

The way you people are commenting makes me laugh (or cry).
Some of you will comment on every article without the any knowledge.

It looks like you do not have any clue on what repercussions this ban will have on the Maltese economy.
Do you think that only the fishermen will face hardship?

Well you can start with the hundreds of Maltese workers within the tuna farming industry that will find themselves unemployed (may they will take your job?), subcontractors, manufactures of packing material and other related material, food stores, fuel suppliers, machinery suppliers, office suppliers, freight forwarding agents, shipping agencies, haulers, mechanics, engineers, suppliers of spare parts... The list is endless.

Think again.
The species is not endangered. This is all a political matter. Other countries within the EU and in the rest of the world have their own industries and their own interests.

R Abela

Mar 10th 2010, 20:00

Thank you EU you will be saving our sea from further pollution created by the tunapens which have been concentrated in the South East waters of our island.

Wilfred L. Camilleri

Mar 10th 2010, 19:33

Come on guys. I agree that fisherman will face hardship but on the other hand the extinction of a species is more serious. It is also true that Maltese fisherman do not catch as much as other EU countries but the point is that if a species is in danger, then all measures necessary must be taken to protect it for future generations, including fishing bans. The same thing happened in Canada with Cod eighteen years ago. The result is that the species is already showing signs of recovery from over fishing. Let's remember that Japan has an insatiable taste for tuna. But the Japanese keep harvesting whales even after commercial whaling was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission. They say it is for research but we all know that it's for the consumers market. The size of the catch by Malta is not the issue. The issue is protecting the species from extinction.

Andrew Gatt

Mar 10th 2010, 18:52

@ Albert Bezzina..............let's call my estimate a guesstimate then. Let's agree that there are 26 other EU countries. Let's agree that they are all MUCH larger than Malta. And let's also agree that fish farms and fishing fleets PALE into INSIGNIFICANCE when compared to theirs. We start up an industry that creates employment and generates foreign exchange. Then the EU shuts us down, after having done 99.9% of the damage itself! That's my point.

Albert Bezzina

Mar 10th 2010, 18:41

Andrew Gatt. By your own estimate the €100 million of processed tuna exported by Malta yearly equates to the larger EU countries and their massive fishing fleets catching €1 Billion worth of Tuna each week. U hallina!

Andrew Gatt

Mar 10th 2010, 18:24

Robert and David, do you honestly think that the tiny dot on the map called Malta is the reason bluefin tuna are endangered?

The larger EU countries and their massive fishing fleets catch more tuna in a week that we can catch or process in a decade!

Very similar to the current Spring Hunting debate....other countries with abundant game first pollute, intensively farm and destroy habitat, resulting in dramatic delcines and endangering any of plant, avian and mammalian species, then every bleeding heart in the EU pounces on tiny Malta for daring to apply 2 derogations while they apply over 3,000!

Antonio Pedro

Mar 10th 2010, 18:08

Sounds like an hypocrit measure, if it goes, because if you can catch and sell in UE, i wonder why you can NOT sell to other countries outside UE... Bluefin tuna is going to be capture, isn´t it??? So... it is a money measure, just to put in risk thousands of fishermen work because the price is going to be low in Community market for sure.

Michael Vella

Mar 10th 2010, 17:48

What is the Maltese government waiting for? The extinction of the species?

Robert Caruana

Mar 10th 2010, 17:45

As time passes our pro-environmental credentials are becoming more and more evident for the international community to appreciate. It seems that for Malta everything is being reduced to purely economic considerations. We are being given the impression that anything goes as long as money is made. Of course as usual, Malta must be in the right while all the other member states are at fault.

David Caruana

Mar 10th 2010, 17:44

Victory!

Again Malta is the black sheep of the EU... I wonder why?!

A. Borg

Mar 10th 2010, 17:27

Another one bites the dust!

Fabian Borg

Mar 10th 2010, 17:14

I hope the EU will not impose a ban on Import of canned tuna from outside the EU.