Maltese fishermen, particularly those who depend on the swordfish fishery, are up in arms following an international agreement to introduce quotas next year.

The Maltese government has vehemently opposed the quota system and proposed that the island be exempted, but the European Commission went ahead and agreed with the proposal.

“We have been let down big time by Roderick Galdes [the parliamentary secretary responsible for fishing], as he promised us he would manage to get an exemption from the Commission,” a 50-year-old full-time fishermen from Marsaxlokk told the Times of Malta yesterday.

“This is another big slap in the face following the introduction of tuna quotas a few years ago. If we are now also restricted on swordfish, what are we going to fish for? We might as well pack up and abandon the trade,” another seasoned fisherman said.

Acknowledging that the new scenario will make things more difficult for fishermen, particularly those who depend on swordfish catches, a spokesman for the Għaqda Koperattiva tas-Sajd (the cooperative fishing association) said: “This is necessary medicine we all have to take”.

“We have to accept the fact that swordfish stocks are dwindling and if we don’t control our fishing we will all end up without anything to fish,” he said while on his way back to Malta from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting in Portugal, where the decision was made on Monday.

We might as well pack up and abandon the trade

“The problem is that we have overfished for a long time and the result is that we all have to make sacrifices now,” he added.

The spokesman said government officials yesterday were still on their way back to Malta from the ICCAT meeting, and replies would therefore come later. Mr Galdes did not form part of the delegation.

In a letter addressed to European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella last month, Mr Galdes made it clear the government was totally against any quotas, adding that countries like Malta which did not use driftnets in the fishery should be exempt. However, the appeal fell on deaf ears.

According to the ICCAT agreement, swordfish catches in the Mediterranean will, as from next year, be capped at 10,500 tonnes and reduced gradually over a 15-year period.

The quota will have to be shared by all the Mediterranean states that engage in the swordfish trade. Meetings at the EU level will be held in the coming weeks to determine how many tons will be allocated to each member State according to historical catch figures declared in the past.

Recent statistics show that Malta normally registers about 350 tonnes of swordfish catches a year, while there are about 700 swordfish fishing licences.

Sources said Marsaxlokk fishermen would be hit worst by the new swordfish quota, as the species amounted to about two-thirds of their annual catches.

Gozitan fishermen are likely to be affected only slightly, because they normally concentrate their fishing on dorado (lampuki) and tuna.

A spokeswoman for Mr Galdes said Malta’s position was not ignored and the outcome of the negotiations is a convergence of various orientations for the final compromise. She added the agreement reflected most of the stakeholders’ concerns and was adopted following negotiations between all involved, including third countries. She added the need to avoid creating unnecessary burdens on small-scale fishers remains a top government priority and Malta will work with all the parties, including the Commission.

Mediterranean risk

• The species is not threatened globally, but the situation is distinct in the Mediterranean Sea.

• According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, swordfish in the Mediterranean is at risk of becoming endangered.

• The Mediterranean stock has plummeted by 70 per cent since 1985, and over two-thirds of total catches were of immature fish that had not yet had the chance to reproduce.

• Italy takes most of the Mediterranean fish, followed by Morocco, Spain, Greece and Tunisia.

• Most of the catches by Maltese fishermen are exported to Italy.