Greenpeace, WWF claim over Libyan tuna boats denied

Malta yesterday denied that Libyan-flagged industrial fishing boats were leaving Maltese ports to fish illegally for bluefin tuna in Libya-controlled waters, as claimed earlier by Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.

A spokesman for the Maltese government said the only Libyan-flagged purse-seiners in Malta were here for servicing at the shipyards.

Serious doubts were expressed over the claims by a source in the local fishing industry, as no fish caught in Libyan waters will this year be purchased by Maltese fish farms. It would be illegal to do so as these waters are closed to fishing due to the conflict in Libya.

With the official bluefin tuna season starting this Monday, Greenpeace and the WWF in a joint statement said they had information that Libyan purse-seiners had left Maltese ports to fish in Libyan waters illegally. They had therefore written to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) asking it to suspend all purse-seine fishing for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean.

“There are reports that several Libyan vessels, legally unauthorised to fish for bluefin, have left Malta bound for Libyan waters. Greenpeace and WWF share the belief that ICCAT member states (Malta in this case) should have prevented their departure,” they said.

A spokesman for the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs, Keith Galea, denied the allegation and said the only Libyan purse seiners in Malta were those that were being serviced at Malta shipyards, although one did leave the island.

He said that at the beginning of last month five Libyan purse-seiners had notified the authorities, through their local agent, of their intention to enter Maltese ports for services. They entered on May 2 and were immediately inspected by the Fisheries Control Directorate (FCD) in line with procedure.

“During the inspection it resulted that these vessels had fishing gear onboard and that their Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) was not transmitting. The Fisheries Control Directorate liaised with Transport Malta and the five purse-seiners were subsequently detained in port. Within hours, the vessel’s VMS systems were made operational,” the spokesman said.

The directorate then determined that there was no legal basis for the Maltese authorities to detain the vessels.

“One purse-seiner, Khadeel II, left Malta on May 7, while the other four vessels are still at Palumbo Shipyards. The local agent of the vessels has been advised that he is to inform the Fisheries Control Directorate before these vessels leave Malta.”

Meanwhile, a source in the Maltese tuna industry told The Times that Maltese fishermen and tuna ranchers would this year not be buying any fish for fattening in their cages from Libya due to the current conflict. “The Libyan market is closed and so any fish caught there will be illegal and without the proper certification,” he said.

“Since we don’t buy any fish which is uncertified, we won’t be buying any fish from Libyan fishermen if the situation remains unchanged.”