EU directives have curtailed the livelihood and the future of Maltese and Gozitan traditional fishermen whose catches are disproportionately restricted for tuna, shortly for swordfish and will soon be restricted for lampuki, former Prime Minister Alfred Sant said.

Speaking in the European Parliament, Dr Sant, an MEP, said EU directives applied at national level requiring a cull of fishermen’s fleets had further loaded the dice against traditional fishermen as contrasted to larger scale enterprises.

Data relating to how catches were developing ended up skewed in favour of the larger scale enterprises. "This is unfair,” Dr Sant said when explaining why he voted against a resolution on the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector.

He said traditional fishermen felt suspicious about the way by which to a large extent, data about the fisheries industry was collated and used to regulate the industry.

They believed that the data collected over time served to screen the impact of the large operators, to their detriment when it came to allocating fishing quotas on a Union and on a national to preserve fish stocks.

“Many traditional fishermen operate on a family basis. Up to quite recently, they lacked the knowledge, resources or time to be able to understand how their industry, indeed their way of life, was changing.

"Larger scale operators transformed the structure of the fishing industry and knew how to lobby in defence of their market share,” he remarked.

Parliament approved the resolution “Union framework for the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector” with 535 votes in favour, 38 against and 48 abstentions.

The resolution aims to foster a dynamic fishing industry and ensure a fair standard of living for fishing communities.