Fisheries Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes this morning promised fishermen regular communication.

Speaking during the annual general meeting of the National Fisheries Cooperative, Mr Galdes listened as the fishermen insisted that things could not change unless there was a change in direction at the directorate.

Their complaints seemed to be directed at Joe Caruana, Fisheries Control director, who also held the post under the previous administration and who was also present for the meeting.

However, the general secretary of the NFC Ray Bugeja added that the views expressed by some of the fishermen were not representative of the cooperative, explaining that it was Mr Caruana who first gave them the chance to participate in the operation plan of the 25-mile zone and to be present in meetings. 

A particular problem that was noted was that when Malta joined the EU, the data given to the union dated back to the 1970s and as a result fishermen based in certain zones were found to be breaching EU regulations. This led the EU to stop 12 trawlers from operating. Mr Galdes promised to look into the matter.

Another problem was the new site of the fish market, next to the slaughterhouse, since the latter was leaking sewage into the building. The new site also lacked an adequate landing facility.

Mr Galdes told the fishermen that although the site could not be changed as EU funds would be lost, he would see how to solve the sewage problem and find a location for a new landing facility.

Fishermen complained about the attitude of enforcement officers and the rigidity of enforcement. Mr Galdes told them that  regulations had to be followed, however he would speak to enforcement officers to see if their attitude could be improved.