European Commission officials have hit back at accusations that EU directives have curtailed the livelihood and future of Maltese fishermen. 

In a statement, the European Commission said that the claims, made by MEP Alfred Sant last week, were "not correct" and that "timely" action by the EU and its partners had helped ensure the long-term sustainability of Bluefin tuna stock.

"Action on Bluefin Tuna has already resulted in a quota increase of more than 60% in the last three years," the Commission added. 

READ: EU directives curtailing livelihood of Maltese fishermen, warns MEP Sant

Speaking in the European Parliament, Dr Sant had said that the new directives had further loaded the dice in favour of large-scale industrial fishing operations. 

"Larger scale operators transformed the structure of the fishing industry and knew how to lobby in defence of their market share,” he said, as he explained his decision to vote against a resolution on the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector.

The MEP had warned that directives which restricted tuna catches would extend to swordfish and eventually lampuki. 

In its rebuttal, the European Commission said that there were no limitations on lampuki catches and that "severe overfishing" of swordfish meant that quotas had to be introduced to ensure the stock's recovery. 

Quotas were set by inter-governmental fishery organisation ICCAT, with the 2017 limit for Mediterranean swordfish higher than all the EU had fished between 2012 and 2014, the Commission said, adding that it was up to EU member states to decide on how to carve up the EU's share among themselves. 

The Commission also took note of Dr Sant's warning that large-scale operators were favoured by the directives, arguing that it was up to member states to decide how their quotas were allocated to different fleet segments.