[WATCH] Bajada sounds alarm over illegal fishing of lampuki by Italian, Tunisian fishers during off-season

Labour MEP Thomas Bajada has called for urgent action by the European Commission over illegal lampuki fishing by Italian and Tunisian fishermen.

“Recent social media footage, publicly shared by Tunisian and Italian fishers as early as 25 July 2025, appears to depict active fishing and possible commercialisation of Common Dolphinfish during this prohibited period, which remains in force until 14 August 2025,” he said in a letter to European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis.

Footage uploaded to TikTok by a number of fishers shows lampuki being caught by Tunisians and Italians.

Lampuki fishing in the Mediterranean is only allowed from 15 August to 31 December, and any fishing carried out outside the season is in breach of General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) regulation.

In contrast, Maltese small-scale fishers have demonstrated full compliance with the established rules and have not deployed Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) or as they are known in Malta as Kannizzati, in full respect of the multiannual management plan.

Just today, government announced the free distribution of palm leaves to fishermen ahead of the lampuki season, with more than 3,000 fronds handed out so far.

“This situation raises serious questions of enforcement and fairness,” Bajada told the commissioner.

He called for the EFCA and national authorities to urgently investigate the alleged illegal activities, evaluate whether EU countries or other GFCM parties have breached their obligations, and formally raise the issue at the GFCM Compliance Committee in November, urging the toughest enforcement actions, including listing offending vessels and operators.

“These allegations represent a clear threat to the integrity of the jointly agreed GFCM multiannual management plan and to the sustainability of the Common Dolphinfish stock. They also pose a serious injustice to compliant small-scale fishers, particularly in Malta, who are bearing the economic cost of following the rules, while others may be profiting through illegal practices,” the MEP said.

Bajada also pointed out this is not the first time the issue has been raised, with parliamentary questions made by himself on 13 August 2024.

“Similar concerns had already been flagged, and we cannot allow continued impunity to erode credibility and trust in our shared governance framework,” he said.

This is not the first time lampuki fishing has led to concerns being raised in European fora. In 2019 MaltaToday had reported how Tunisian fishers were plundering Gozitan fishing grounds. The situation has escalated to Maltese fishers reporting being threatened by the Tunisians wielding machetes and Molotov cocktails.

Peter Agius says he flagged issue a year ago

In a statement later on Tuesday, PN MP Peter Agius welcomed Bajada's flagging of the issue, adding that when he reported the abuse, "government chose to resort to calling fake news instead of taking action."

Agius protested the fact that when he wrote to the Fisheries Commissioner about the matter, he was met with a reply stating that Malta did not report any illegal lampuki fishing.