Government in Tunisia talks after Maltese lampuki fishers complain of inaction

Government is engaging in bilateral talks with Tunisia over the poaching of lampuki from Maltese lines by Tunisian fishers.

“Malta, through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, is also reaching out bilaterally to Tunisia with the objective of solving this issue and protecting the livelihood of Maltese fishermen,” a statement by the Fisheries Ministry on Wednesday said.

On Sunday, MaltaToday reported that the European Commission is exploring the possibility of having European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) patrolling lampuki fishing grounds to curb the plunder of dolphin fish by Tunisian poachers.

Just last week, footage sent to MaltaToday showed a war of words between Gozitan fishers and poachers, after their lampuki fishing lines in the Mediterranean were being scouted by Tunisians.

The Fisheries Ministry had said back in August that the Armed Forces of Malta would be patrolling fishing grounds for signs of illegalities by foreign fishers.

In today’s statement, the ministry said these routine fishery patrols were not exclusively targeted towards a particular country.

Maltese fishers say they have been let down by the authorities after promised patrols by the AFM to act as a deterrent for Tunisian vessels plundering their lampuki catch, failed to materialize.

Despite the complaints, the ministry has insisted that such operations are for surveillance and monitoring, rather than a show of force, and are being carried out in accordance to General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) regulation enacted last year. 

“It shall be prohibited for a contracting party (CPC) vessel to catch fish attracted by a Fishing Aggregated Device (FAD) that has not been set by this CPC vessel,” the recommendation states. 

In addition to the surveillance by the AFM, fishers have also been told to report and submit evidence of wrong doing by the Tunisian fishers. 

“It is thus unlawful for Tunisian vessels to fish on FADs deployed by Maltese vessels, and vice versa,” the statement read. 

The ministry also pointed out that the majority of clashes are being carried out in international waters and not in the Maltese Fisheries Management and Conservation Zone.

Talks have also continued between Malta, the European Commission and EFCA.