Maltese MEP Alfred Sant has said that the European Commission is not giving enough attention to traditional fishermen, including Maltese and Gozitan fishermen, in the Mediterranean.

European Commission is ignoring traditional Maltese fisherman, says Sant

“The EC cannot understand that certain rules have disrupted the traditional tuna fishing and is not recognising that traditional fishermen are facing regulatory competitive conditions that cannot permit them making a living.”

Sant stated, “it is a pity that this is happening in the name of a policy of the preservation of fish stock, a policy which is needed.”

Alfred Sant was reacting in Brussels to a reply by the European Commission to his Parliamentary Question on tuna discards by traditional small scale fishermen in the central Mediterranean and contiguous areas.

The European Commission said that the reformed Common Fisheries Policy requires any EU vessel, irrespective of its size and fishing area to land all catches in fisheries subject to catch limits or, in the Mediterranean, also subject to minimum sizes. This obligation is to enter into force on a fishery-by-fishery basis and from 1 January 2015 it will apply to large pelagics like bluefin tuna, swordfish, albacore tuna, bigeye tuna, blue and white marlin.

Alfred Sant asked the EC to specify the exact policy that is being, or should be, followed with regard to tuna discards resulting from the operations of traditional fishing boats when these reach their set quotas and inadvertently in one catch exceed regulatory limits.

“Does not the policy as administered at present lead to a waste of fishing resources,and indeed a hidden overfishing? Should there not be, in the tuna sector for the Mediterranean, a deeper distinction between rules applicable to industrial fishing trawlers and traditional fishing boats, especially the smaller ones, since current rules for industrial trawlers seem to be generating lots of unreported discards, deleterious to tuna stocks, while for traditional fishing boats they seem to be creating burdensome constraints and unnecessary waste of fish resources, even if these are marginal to tuna stocks,” the Maltese MEP asked the EC.

The European Commission said that EU vessels also have to comply with international rules of Fisheries Management Organisations if they fish for stocks under their purview. Therefore, the new Common Fisheries Policy states that the landing obligation is without prejudice to the Union’s international obligations and gives the possibility to adopt delegated acts for the purpose of implementing such obligations.

A delegated act that will include the obligations for tunas in the Mediterranean laid down by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas is being prepared by the Commission

The EC said that the new Common Fishing Policy calls for the projection of its internal principles to the international level. This includes promoting the gradual elimination of discards by RFMOs for all fishing vessels, including ICCAT.

With regards to the need for a greater distinction between the rules applicable to industrial fishing trawlers and those applicable to traditional and small fishing boats, the European Commission said that there are no EU trawlers operating for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. Trawlers operating for albacore are active in the Mediterranean, but the Commission is not aware of any specific by-catch issue affecting them and generating large discards.

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