Malta tuna ranchers in war of attrition over fish kept in cages ‘on tow’

Over the last eight months, Maltese tuna ranchers are incurring daily costs in a war of attrition over tonnes of tuna fish which has been on tow in the Mediterranean sea

Only recently in April, a legal notice from the agriculture and fisheries ministry introduced new powers that allow the Maltese fisheries director-general to order the release of overfished tuna
Only recently in April, a legal notice from the agriculture and fisheries ministry introduced new powers that allow the Maltese fisheries director-general to order the release of overfished tuna

Maltese tuna ranchers are incurring daily costs in a war of attrition over tonnes of tuna fish which has been on tow in the Mediterranean sea for the last eight months.

Tuna ranchers AJD Tuna Ltd and Fish and Fish had already lost separate cases against the government, to prevent it from ordering them to set free tuna they had acquired in excess of their quotas.

The tuna was legally caught by Italian and French fishers, but the Maltese ranchers acquired some 2,300 tonnes of fish in the summer of 2019 before any conclusive decision from ICCAT was taken to allow Malta’s national quota to increase, by absorbing unused quotas from countries like Italy.

By the time ICCAT had decided it would not increase quotas, the additional tuna was in Maltese hands but it could not be caged for fattening.

Neither was it released, because no executive decision at law could be taken by the European directorate-general for fisheries to order the release.

Instead the tuna was kept in cages ‘on tow’, that is, literally being towed from one point to the other out at sea until the two companies received a green light to pen the tuna for fattening.

That has come at considerable cost for the tuna ranchers in fuel and tuna feed, as it awaited an executive decision to either release the tuna in the wild, or harvest it.

Now, eight months later, costs are mounting and there is also concern for the longevity of the tuna itself.

In Brussels, the Maltese government has faced pressure to order the tuna ranchers to release the fish although no executive powers existed in Maltese law until last month.

“Malta must show that it can supervise its fishing industry well enough,” one insider told MaltaToday. “The tuna was acquired without certainty on the increased quotas, so it should be released. If Malta cannot enforce the rules, it risks additional pressure on its entire industry.”

Malta’s tuna ranchers are amongst the largest exporters of Bluefin tuna to Japan.

Both AJD and Fish & Fish companies had filed warrants of prohibitory injunction to stay any potential order to release the fish, until judicial proceedings under the Fishing Conservation and Administration Act could be taken.

But acting fisheries director Bjorn Callus had told the court that if the fish are not released out of good will, he would be constrained to proceed with criminal action against the companies, given that he lacked the competence to have the fish released without the court’s permission. The court declined to issue the prohibitory injunction.

Only recently in April, a legal notice from the agriculture and fisheries ministry introduced new powers that allow the Maltese fisheries director-general to order the release of overfished tuna.

Crucially however, the Attorney General had already filed a criminal complaint for the prosecution of the two tuna ranchers back in February.

An executive order to release the tuna by the Maltese DG would have allowed the two companies to sue the Maltese government for damages. That would have resolved much of their financial headaches. It appears the matter will have to be resolved in court for the tuna ranchers.