Artisanal fishers come together to fight for survival

A new NGO has been set up by a number of artisanal fishers from Marsaxlokk with the aim of protecting their livelihood, community and heritage by practising low impact traditional fishing methods that care for the environment and marine resources.  

Founding member Martin Caruana said that the NGO, Marsaxlokk Artisanal Fishers, “has been set up to be the voice of the small scale artisanal fishermen who feel neglected and abused.”

“We are resolute to be very active. We want to create awareness about everything that is going wrong. We intend to do our part but we need cooperation, help and protection,” Caruana said. 

The new group intends to tackle a number of problems afflicting the community, chiefly industrial trawlers operating within the 25-mile conservation zone. 

“This was illegal before joining the EU. Upon joining, our world was turned upside down. While our 12-metre luzzu was prohibited from fishing within the zone, the 24-metre industrial trawlers were ushered in. These trawlers have scraped up everything from the bottom of our traditional fishing grounds. There is not enough fish for us anymore,” Caruana said.

He pointed out that to add insult to injury there are now a few medium sized traditional boats that are casting trammel nets. “Instead of six to 12 pieces they are casting from 50 to 70 pieces and working round the clock, thanks to imported cheap labour. The end result is that the fishing effort has increased exponentially since joining the EU.”

Marsaxlokk Artisanal Fishers also intend to go into talks with the authorities to “sort out the mess” created by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. 

Asked what their main objectives are, the NGO’s founding members – who also include Rosario Incorvaja, Emanuel Caruana, Emanuel Muscat, Gudas Taddeo Caruana and Angel Joseph Caruana – said they have a vast list of proposals but at this stage they prefer to discuss them with the authorities first. 

“The proposals cover many areas that need immediate attention. The underlying objective is preserving the marine environment, our community and our heritage,” Caruana said. 

The Maltese fishing community is plagued by pique and competing federations and Caruana admits that “politics is the most contagious disease”.

“The fishing community is not spared. Yet I am very confident that we will be united irrespective of the colour, whether it is red, blue, green, orange.”

Asked whether the new NGO will bring unity or foment more division, Caruana said the community’s existence is at stake and this is above partisan politics.

“There is lots of enthusiasm out there as many have been hoping that this must happen someday. We do expect bitterness from certain quarters. It is a totally different issue and it is above politics. Some people – businessmen, fat cats, people close to power, shady characters etc – just do not like such initiatives. We experienced it in the past when we set up the Fishermen Co-op. They did their best to destroy it, and they succeeded. But now we live in a totally different scenario. The mentality has changed too. The media is stronger and there are European institutions that can help us.”

Sounding an optimistic note, Caruana said that his recent appointment on the Fisheries Board “has boosted the morale of the fishing community and we are very thankful. It shows a high level of trust and we intend to reciprocate it.”