The Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs said Alternattiva Demokratika spokesmen gave a wrong interpretation of the reply the European Commission gave to the Green party of Malta about tuna fishing.

The ministry strongly rebutted AD's allegations that, in its letter to AD, the Commission confirmed discrepancies in tuna farming figures as supplied by the industry. It said the statement issued by AD about the matter was deceitful.

The ministry said the Commission is in constant contact with the Maltese authorities to clarify allegations against the industry.

The ministry said the letter in question informs AD of details furnished to the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tuna by the Maltese authorities.

As declared on several occasions, the ministry explained, the Fisheries Department insists that the information is correct and can easily be verified.

Furthermore, the ministry explained that Malta is obliged to register with the ICCAT all fish farms having a licence to operate, regardless of whether tuna has already been purchased for the farm or not. "In fact, Malta has two cases where a farm has the licence to operate but doesn't have tuna in its cages," the ministry noted. Contrary to being an irregularity, it explained, this confirms that the Fisheries Department has always done what it was asked to and declared all farms in possession of a licence and which, therefore, can be in operation.

The ministry said there was nothing irregular in a company having two different licences - one in St Paul's Bay and another close to Comino - with the ICCAT. In fact, the Fisheries Department registers the two farms separately in order to ensure transparency and make them traceable. There was nothing wrong in Maltese fish farms having a tuna capacity exceeding Malta's quota as long as the actual stock does not exceed the limit, the ministry said.