Threatening clouds are gathering

Harvard professor Elizabeth Ross Kanter says that societies are inventors, makers or traders. A main characteristic of traders is that they live for the moment; they seize an opportunity and move on to the next one. Throughout the centuries, Malta served mainly as a trading outpost.

The Atlantic bluefin tuna industry has become important for our economy. The statistics speak for themselves: 1,000 jobs, €100 million annual turnover and 4.5 per cent of Malta's exports. Global trade in this "king of fish" is valued at €1.5 billion annually. Japan devours 80 per cent of all the bluefin tuna catch. The retail price of bluefin tuna in a Tokyo fish market can be as high as €210 a kilo; this fish is highly prized by sushi and sashimi restaurants.

Described as "the capital of the lucrative global business" (The Independent, September 5, 2009), Malta has one of the largest tuna pens in the world. Bluefin tuna feeds in polar north Atlantic seas but breeds in warmer waters such as the Mediterranean. Young, wild tuna caught by industrial trawlers are brought here for fattening. The fish has no chance to spawn before it is killed. This is fast depleting stocks of this special type of horse-mackerel and scientists believe it can become extinct within three years. Stocks have fallen by more than 80 per cent over the last 40 years to about 3.2 million.

The catch of this fish is regulated by quotas set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Many Mediterranean countries buy quotas from Africa. Rampant illegal fishing makes a mockery of this quota system. Monaco is championing that bluefin tuna be listed in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

The EU will be voting as a bloc in favour of the ban. Malta was the only EU country that voted against the ban (Sweden and Austria abstained). It had been insisting on regulation rather than a total ban. It is a pity that the quota system has been so blatantly abused. It is understood that the EU will offer compensation to its tuna fleets but it is not known whether this will be extended to penning operators. On France's insistence, the EU's yes vote is conditional to the ban becoming effective as from 2011. The EU is also seeking exemptions for fishers using small boats to supply local markets. This, at least, would benefit our own fishermen who have no share in the multi-million euro tuna business.

The outcome of this week's Cites meeting in Doha is crucial for Malta's penning industry. Monaco's proposal needs to get a two-thirds majority of the 179 participating countries. Japan may opt out of the Cites ban. So may some other Mediterranean countries. Is this "the end of the line" for another thriving local industry?

Dark clouds are also gathering on Malta's remote gaming industry. The numbers here are equally impressive. The Lotteries and Gaming Authority has issued over 340 licences for online casinos, poker, betting and other gaming sites. Malta is a veritable hub for igaming hosting 10 per cent of the world's online gaming companies. Ninety-five per cent of these companies originate from the EU. Remote gaming engages 2,100 employees (half of whom are Maltese) and earns the government €19 million annually. Globally, in 2008, online gambling generated a turnover of €15.6 billion.

Malta began licensing online gaming sites in 2000. Since then, a strong regulatory framework has been put in place. Malta was the first EU jurisdiction to regulate igaming. Malta's other strengths include a flexible, multi-lingual workforce, a sound ICT infrastructure and a competitive gaming tax regime. Malta's stringent criteria permitted it to qualify for the UK's "white list", which enables offshore gambling companies to advertise in the country.

The EU has not yet caught up with the fast evolving realities of this industry. Various EU states, especially France and Portugal, have consistently been seeking to defend their monopoly over this lucrative business by constructing various legal and administrative obstacles to remote gaming. The European Commission was obliged to start infringement procedures against these states.

There now seems to be creeping in an acknowledgement of a member state's right to limit freedom of establishment and the free movement of online gaming companies in other member states. This would seriously threaten the future of the remote gaming industry in the EU.

Malta is being accused of using loopholes in EU law to give an advantage to online operators. Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi went as far as saying that the offshore licences granted by Malta distorted the mutual trust between member states (March 8). Michel Barnier, Internal Market Commissioner, is now promising the publication of a Green Paper to eliminate the confusion around remote gaming.

Malta should not refrain from coming up with new initiatives as how to make our economy grow. This will inevitably involve some risk. The key question is: Are we doing all that is necessary to ensure the sustainability of these initiatives? Or is it just about moving on to the next opportunity?

fms18@onvol.net