Attacks on Maltese fishermen raised in Council of Ministers' meeting

It was unacceptable that "private armies", such as Greenpeace and Sea Sheperd, attacked legal fishing operations as happened recently on Maltese operators, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino told his European counterparts during a Council of...

It was unacceptable that "private armies", such as Greenpeace and Sea Sheperd, attacked legal fishing operations as happened recently on Maltese operators, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino told his European counterparts during a Council of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg today.

Mr Pullicino stressed the importance of reaffirming the role of member state inspectors and of the Fisheries Control Agency. He said that the recent attacks on Maltese operators also involved Libyan, Tunisian, French and Italian vessels.

Organisations such as Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd had no right to take the law into their own hands and operators had a right to protection, the minister said.

The meeting also discussed the European Commission's aim of reaching a maximum sustainable yield of fisheries stocks by 2015 as well as the reform of the fisheries policy.

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