Environmental NGOs' accusations of foul play over the amount of farmed tuna declared by Malta were prompted by a typing error made by the European Commission.
International NGOs, in particular Greenpeace and the WWF, pointed to a report compiled by Commission inspectors earlier this year - showing that Malta over-declared 210 tonnes of live bluefin tuna in 2008, which was never physically present in Maltese cages - as evidence that the island is being used for illegal tuna laundering.
A Commission official, however, said that the amount was a mistake and that Brussels does not feel the need to investigate the NGOs' claims.
"We have already explained to the NGOs concerned that this 210 extra tonnes allocated to Malta was a typing error on our part and has already been corrected. Despite this, NGOs and certain sections of the press keep on harping on this data error."
The Commission official explained that, as is normally done, a meeting will be held with all member states next year in order to verify the declarations they send to the Commission.
"However, this is normal practice for us and is done every time member states submit their declarations as they are obliged to. Malta is not in any way being singled out as we normally verify all data submitted by all our member states."
Five tuna companies yesterday sued the newspaper MaltaToday for libel over an article which reported that Malta's claim that about €25 million worth of live bluefin was caught in 2007 and carried over to 2008 is being investigated after conservation groups seriously called it into question.
NGOs are up in arms against the Commission over the latest international agreement reached last Monday in Marrakech, Morocco, by all the contracting parties of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), slashing the bluefin tuna quotas allowed to be caught in the coming two years by a further 30 per cent.
Dubbing the agreement as "disastrous", Greenpeace said that the EU and ICCAT decided to sacrifice the future of bluefin tuna at the expense of satisfying the industry's short-term economic interests. NGOs were pushing for a complete closure of the fishery. Following last Monday's agreement they have also accused EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg of putting pressure on member states to reach this deal.
However, a Commission spokesman defended the deal and described the allegations made with regards to Commissioner Borg as "complete nonsense".
"The allegations made are totally unsubstantiated and unacceptable. The consensus reached on Monday night in Marrakech is based on a general agreement on the comprehensive package of measures embraced by all ICCAT members that will have to implement it. It is complete nonsense to suggest that the Commission could pressure any country to adopt this consensus," the spokesman said.
Following the agreement, Malta's bluefin tuna quota is expected to go down to 240 tonnes in 2010 from 331 this year. Ranching farms will also see their allowed capacities capped and controlled.