A professional spear fisherman has found himself out of a job after he was informed practice was outlawed by EU regulations introduced in 2007.

Sandro Mizzi was approached during one of his deep sea dives by an Armed Forces vessel and told he had to stop doing what he has done all his life.

Mr Mizzi’s story was recounted in Brussels during a meeting of the Petitions Committee where he filed an official complaint over what he described as “a serious threat to his livelihood”.

Although the committee was sympathetic, Mr Mizzi was told there was nothing that could be done and his best course of action was to make an alternative living.

Spear fishing runs in the Mizzi family. Early in the morning they used to take to the sea on their small fishing-boat.

Upon reaching deep waters, they donned scuba equipment and spear-hunting gear in search of fish they could sell, mostly to restaurants.

A European Commission official who addressed Mr Mizzi’s petition said that although this was an unfortunate case, the law had been in place since January 2007.

According to rules on the management of sustainable exploitation of fish in the Mediterranean, spear fishing by scuba divers was no longer permitted as from 2007 since it was deemed unsustainable.

The Commission explained that this type of activity, which was mainly practised by thousands of recreational fishermen in the Mediterranean, was “too efficient a system in catching adult specimens of several fish species”.

Mr Mizzi argued that the situation in Cyprus is different than Malta since he was aware of individuals who were given a licence to continue spear fishing with artificial air.

The Commission dismissed the claim, saying that following verifications the Cypriot authorities confirmed that no licences had been granted since January 2007.

Intervening during the discussion, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil said that although rules had to be observed, he could not understand the damage a family of fishermen was doing when trawlers had been catching whatever they came across for decades.

However, he said that most importantly the EU must address Mr Mizzi’s family concerns as they are suddenly facing a major problem.

“The least the EU could do is offer some type of compensation, training, or help so that people like Mr Mizzi can start afresh in some type of other activity.

The EU must not only enact laws but also show a social conscience,” Dr Busuttil said.

The Commission said it would continue to look into this case and find out whether Mr Mizzi can benefit from the European Fisheries Fund.