Two foreign fishermen charged with illegal fishing in Maltese territorial waters have been acquitted after a court ruled that an EU “special fishing permit” they possessed exempted them from following local legislation.
The ruling has raised concerns about the impact there might be on the island’s 25-mile management zone, which was established to protect Malta’s fragile marine ecosystem.
“I hope that someone appeals the judgment because if the decision is upheld, it would spell the end of Malta’s conservation,” Former Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs George Pullicino said when asked for a reaction.
The case dates to June 2008, when a French flagged fishing vessel captained by Frenchman Fontanet Silvere and owned by Moroccan Serge Antoine Jose Perez was caught fishing inside the zone in breach of the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.
If the decision is upheld, it would spell the end of Malta’s conservation
Maltese law says that “fishing by a foreign fishing vessel in the fishing waters is prohibited unless authorised by a licence granted under this Act”. Foreigners caught fishing without a licence face a fine of between €9,317 and €116,400.
Defence lawyers Joseph Giglio and Pio Valletta argued that such a prohibition was nullified by EU law, which states that purse seine vessels (which employ a seine or dragnet) such as that of the accused did not require a licence.
The fishermen were in possession of a “special fishing permit” issued by France and were also included in the European Community Fleet Register, the defence pointed out.
There were also numerous European Court of Justice rulings which confirmed the supremacy of EU law over national legislation in case of a conflict between the two.
Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona ruled that, since the accused were in conformity with community rules regarding special fishing rights, they were not prohibited from fishing within the Maltese management zone once conferred with a special fishing permit.
During the negotiations on Malta’s membership in the European Union, the EU acknowledged Malta’s efforts to conserve fish stocks over the previous 30 years and accepted that membership should not lead to a decline in the protection of fish stocks in this zone.
An agreement was reached on establishing a 25-mile fisheries management zone around the islands, managed by the Maltese authorities for conservation purposes.
This agreement was incorporated into EU law. A list of all the fishing vessels that have fished in the area was drawn up by the Maltese authorities and only fishing boats registered on this list were allowed to fish in the zone.
Mr Pullicino believes the judgment is incorrect. “I am not a lawyer but according to Malta’s negotiations with the EU, no one can fish in the 25-mile zone without a licence issued by local authorities.”
Questions sent to Fisheries Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes were unanswered by the time of writing.