Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1170309
OPINION 27 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 SEPTEMBER 2019 Life on the high seas Clint Camilleri Clint Camilleri is Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries today | SUNDAY • 22 SEPTEMBER 2019 Clint Camilleri TALK of life on the high seas often conjures up images of brute lawlessness and cut- throat ruggedness. Lying, as they do, beyond the sobering reach of civilisation, inter- national waters are, in the collective imagination, an environment where each per- son or vessel is to themselves, and where might definitely is right. The issue of Tunisian and Gozitan fishers clashing over the dolphin fish (lampuki) fisheries in the north-west of the islands has recently been the subject of several media reports. It is not, however, a new phenomenon. Even as far back as 2002, for example, there had been calls by inter- ested fishers for the Maltese and Tunisian governments to take immediate steps to stem the problem. What is now obvious is that it was not to be, and therefore several years later the prob- lem persists. Tunisian fishers are consistently reported to plunder fish off the Gozitan's fishing aggregating devices (FADS), popularly known as kannizzati in Maltese. While fishing off the floats is not strictly illegal, there have also been reports of fish- ers actually stealing or even destroying the Gozitan floats outright. Gozitan crews have de- scribed in particularly vivid terms the belligerent behav- iour of some Tunisian boats and their crews. Vessels have been reported to actively fend off Gozitan fishing craft, pre- venting them from accessing their own kannizzati just as other Tunisian boats fished off those very same floats. In extreme cases, Tuni- sian boats are said to have attempted to ram Gozitan vessels and to have harassed them very savagely, with disturbing reports of very near misses during ramming manoeuvres, and of fearsome Tunisian crews brandishing machetes and petrol bombs. Government is, of course, fully aware of the challenges and threats that our fishers have to face on a daily basis in the course of their work. We never have, and never will, shirk our responsibility for protecting our fisheries and the livelihoods of our fishers. I have personally had discus- sions with the armed forces, and I have been assured that all necessary measures are be- ing taken, within the param- eters of international law, to protect our fishers. The fact remains that within the Maltese fishing zone, or up to twenty-five miles from shore, the AFM can and does intervene effectively. Beyond that, however, our powers are limited by international law. This is not to say that we intend to sit on the fence, and indeed finding a long-term solution to this matter sits up there among our topmost priorities. Nevertheless it is clear that, objectively, this can only be achieved within the contexts of international agreements and forums. Government is considering taking the issue to the Gen- eral Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the regional fisheries man- agement organisation. The GFCM, of which Malta and Tunisia are contracting par- ties, is the body in charge of fishing in the Mediterranean Sea. It should, in my view, be the main forum wherein to make our case with the Tu- nisian authorities, who alone have the clout to rein in any wrongdoers. It does, in fact, appear that concerns had been raised with Tunisia in 2002, and that these had resulted in the Tunisian authorities temporarily putting a stop to the poaching. There exists, therefore, every reason to believe that diplomacy and negotiations with the Tuni- sian authorities in the context of the GFCM could represent a way forward and out of the present impasse, but we must ensure that this time round the results will be permanent. The European Union too is a contracting party in the GFCM, and Malta has raised the matter with the European Commission. The EC has taken the view that a spatial dispute does indeed exist be- tween Maltese and Tunisian fishers on lampuki fishing, and is therefore expected to raise the issue in the next meeting of the GFCM in Greece. I believe that now is the time for every effort to be made on our part to present a united front, together with our EU friends, and to engage constructively with the Tuni- sian authorities in the quest for a permanent resolution of the issue. It seems to me that a means to this end could be a GFCM-brokered and regulated FAD management plan acceded to by Malta and Tunisia. This would facilitate the identification of the floats and regulate the fishing prac- tices of the two countries. I wish to assure all fishers that I am well aware of the hardships and threats that they have to face when they are out at sea. It is, therefore, with the utmost responsibility that I reiterate my own and government's commitment to their well-being, and I shall not rest in my endeavours to find the best possible avenues for helping and support- ing them in their work. I am convinced that only possible solution to the current prob- lem is clearly to negotiate an agreement with the Tunisian authorities within the GFCM, with the help of the European Commission. This is what I will be working towards in the coming weeks. I strongly believe that the focus should be on seeking common ground with the Tunisian authorities with a view to finding a workable arrangement that both coun- tries can agree to in a spirit of neighbourly cooperation. The solution definitely does not lie in confrontation, as we ultimately rely on the Tuni- sian authorities, and on them alone, to regulate the agree- ment from their end, and to weed out any wrongdoers. It is the only way to make the international waters in the north-west a safer place, and to ensure that our fishers go there to work, not fight. Government is, of course, fully aware of the challenges and threats that our fishers have to face on a daily basis in the course of their work. We never have, and never will, shirk our responsibility for protecting our fisheries and the livelihoods of our fishers The solution definitely does not lie in confrontation, as we ultimately rely on the Tunisian authorities, and on them alone, to regulate the agreement from their end, and to weed out any wrongdoers