Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1072992
NEWS 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JANUARY 2019 Expression of Interest The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) invites relevant candidtes to express their interest in participating in a pool of experts to assist in both social and economic research for the various sections of the entity. Terms and Conditions for the expression of interest may be obtained by email on info.mcesd@gmail.com The submission date is till noon of Thursday 31 st January 2019. Late submissions will not be accepted or considered. The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) invites relevant candidtes to express their interest in participating in a pool of experts to assist in both social and economic research for the various sections of the entity. Terms and Conditions for the expression of interest may be obtained by email on info.mcesd@gmail.com The submission date is till noon of Thursday 31st January 2019. Late submissions will not be accepted or considered. EXPRESSION OF INTEREST MATTHEW VELLA AN old feud between Maltese and Tu- nisian fishers shows no signs of abating despite decades-long attempts at forc- ing some form of state action against theft and abusive actions during the lampuki season. Fishing co-op members who spoke to MaltaToday complained that Tuni- sian fishermen were pilfering lampuki catches from their float rafts, the kan- nizzatti devices where dozens of floats along some three miles are used to lure the fish. "Nothing changes," one fisherman who spoke to this newspaper said. "Tu- nisian fishermen just steal our catch, year in, year out." The lampuka row is nothing new: al- ready in 2001, the ministry for fisheries had made its own attempts at interven- ing with Tunisian authorities. At the time, the ministry had reported alle- gations that Tunisian fishermen were deliberately towing kannizzati – the aggregating device used by lampuki fishermen – so that Maltese fishermen will be unable to find the fish beneath the float rafts. "The problem lies to the south of Malta around 45 miles out at sea, while Gozitan fishers are encoun- tering their own problems around 36 to 65 miles off Gozo," the ministry had said, saying it had requested the inter- vention of the Tunisian fisheries de- partment and asked the Armed Forces of Malta to give Maltese fishermen pro- tection at sea. But 18 years later, the situation seems not to have changed for Maltese fisher- men, a Marsaxlokk veteran said, prefer- ring to stay anonymous. "This is expen- sive and laborious work, and to have Tunisian fishermen simply take away the fish we have lured to our floats, is criminal." The traditional Maltese lampuki fish- ers have a time-tested method to attract lampuki, or dolphin fish to the surface. They use palm fronds which are woven into large, flat rafts kept afloat by us- ing jablo, and kept in place at sea using a stone slab. Dozens of these floats are placed at intervals along a directional line usually three miles long. The lam- puki, seeking shade and safety from preying fish like tuna, school beneath the rafts. Finally, the fishers catch all the fish by encircling the school with a large mesh net at each interval. Catches have varied in weight and wholesale value over the last years. In 2014, Maltese fishers landed 344,900kg, going up to 507,856kg in 2015, but in 2016 falling to 464,231kg. That year, lampuki sold at an average €5.58 per kilo in wholesale and direct sales. In a letter to the European Commis- sion's directorate-general for fisheries, the Nationalist candidate for MEP, Pe- ter Agius, has demanded action against unruly Tunisians stealing the fish from Maltese kannizzatti. He told the director for Mediterrane- an fisheries Valerie Laine that this was a "recurrent and systematic phenom- enon… clearly the Tunisians' fishing model includes the illegitimate exploi- tation of Maltese fishermen's fishing devices," he wrote. Agius claims that that the situation is not being treated at a European level or at an international level of cooperation with Tunisia. "What is the possibility that the European Commission helps Maltese fishermen? Does it have a way of ad- dressing this situation through the General Fisheries Commission of the Mediterranean? And can this matter be raised as part of current negotiations with Tunisia on the DCFTA (deep and comprehensive free trade agreement)?" Last August, some 130 Mal- tese vessels went out at sea for the lampuki season, each carrying an average of 150 floats. The fishing takes place between eight to 100 nautical miles outside Malta, along directional lines that are randomly allocated by the fishing authorities. But these fish- ers are no longer the sole utilisers of the traditional Maltese kannizzata system: now that the Italians, Spaniards, Greeks and Tunisian fishers are also fishing for lampuki, competition is being made worse by the confrontations between Maltese fishers in the south Mediterra- nean finding Tunisian boats harvesting their catch. Brussels told to help Maltese fishers against Tunisian lampuki thieves Photos of Tunisian fishers snapped by Maltese fishermen, as they help themselves to their catch.