Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1163844
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 SEPTEMBER 2019 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "One time my radar pinged 30 Tunisian vessels within a six- mile radius," Zammit said, add- ing this has been a 10-year feud. The lampuki season kicks off on 10 August and fishers lay out their kannizzati, floats un- der which fish shelter, along long lines in areas defined by the authorities. The first floats are normally laid out some eight miles from the Maltese coast- line, heading out for a further 100 miles. The angle at which the floats are laid out is determined by Maltese law but the lines extend far out into international wa- ters, where countries have lim- ited jurisdiction. Arthur Micallef, another lam- puki fisher, believes the Tuni- sians are receiving specific in- formation from Malta on which lines and floats to fish on. "They prey on areas along our lines where the fish is abundant. If I manage to catch around 100 crates of fish from particular floats, until I offload the catch in Malta and return back to sea, there are already five Tunisian vessels in that same area," Mi- callef said. He also noted that Tunisian fishers were using larger nets to circle the fish, which increases their yield. "To put you into perspective, with our nets we fill a crate, with their nets they fill 10. They not only steal fish which should be ours, but proceed to destroy our gear which we spend months working on," Micallef said. The situation has become a daily occurrence, especially for Gozitan fishers, who fish at a more northerly angle. "We have no other option other than to fish, while we see others steal our catch," Micallef said. Other fishers who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of an- onymity spoke of constant prov- ocations by the Tunisian fishers. "We had fishing boats threat- ening us with machetes and Molotov cocktails and some Tunisian boats are also trying to ram ours, in some instances coming as close as two feet away from us," they said. A particular Tunisian vessel has also garnered a reputa- tion among the Maltese. The 65-foot boat has been nick- named Bin Laden by Maltese fishers because it sports a pic- ture of the terrorist on its side. This large vessel fishes among the other Tunisian boats, but when confrontation ensues it is called upon to pro- vide muscle. Maltese fishers said this boat found no issue with directing its bow towards the Maltese vessels and driving at full- speed towards them. "You either get out of the way or you're done. You may try to bluff a little bit with the other boats, but when you see the Bin Laden coming, you just run," one fisher continued. But while many Maltese fishers are sometimes over- whelmed by the situation, some are fighting back. One fisher, who insisted on anonymity, said he was taking his own hunting shotguns with him at sea. "I am scared, when we see them. I start trembling, and out there no one can protect you," he said, adding the shot- guns were a means of self-de- fence. He claims to have never used his gun but fishers recounted incidents of Maltese who have fired on the Tunisians. "If things don't change, blood will be shed," the fishers insist- ed. But not all Maltese are keen to fight back. Micallef believes that retaliating may result in the Tu- nisians fighting back when they go back out to fish. "I don't go there to fight, I go there to work," he insisted. The situation has left fishers with Hobson's choice. They ei- ther chase the Tunisians off and in the process, scare off any lam- puki in the vicinity, or fish on the rest of the available floats. But even the latter option has become an issue. On some lines, while three Tunisian boats are fishing, another keeps the Mal- tese busy, preventing them from fishing. NEWS The red oval is the route the Tunisian poachers take as they steal the Maltese catch, taking everything they can with them This is where the 'Bin Laden' - a 65-foot boat which fishers claim is carrying the photo of Osama Bin Laden on the front of its cabin - moors, and is called upon to ram any advance from Maltese and Gozitan fishers to defend their quarry Poachers of the Mediterranean Sfax, the Tunisian port town from where the fishing poachers depart to then moor between the islands of Lampedusa and Linosa Plunder and war on the high seas Unabashed thievery: this Tunisian fishing boat is photographed stealing the Maltese and Gozitan kannizzatti with their fishing nets. The photos on the right visibly show the entire lampuki float being nabbed in their net "We have been forgotten. The Maltese authorities should talk to their authorities and let them know about what is happening out there."