Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539941
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 OCTOBER 2025 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Agius said Maltese fishers set up the nets, tie palm trees to them, and anchor them with stones, only to later find Tunisian fishers tak- ing over the catch. According to Agius, three Tuni- sian vessels were reported to the Maltese Fisheries authorities and asked that the case be raised at the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). The PN MP also called for the European ferry Ocean Sentinel to patrol the sea to deter Tunisian vessels. His post follows recent action by Labour MEP Thomas Bajada, who in August called on the European Commission to act over illegal lampuki fishing by Tunisian and Italian vessels. Bajada said that footage on TikTok showed lampuki being caught and sold outside the per- mitted fishing season, which only opens on 15 August and runs until 31 December. In his letter to Fisheries Com- missioner Costas Kadis, Bajada said that Maltese small-scale fish- ers had complied with the rules and had not deployed Fish Aggre- gating Devices before the opening date. Meanwhile, the government has been handing out palm fronds free of charge to fishers, with more than 3,000 given out ahead of the season. "This situation raises serious questions of enforcement and fairness," Bajada told the commis- sioner, calling for urgent investi- gations by the European Fisheries Control Agency and national au- thorities. 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 sit- uation has escalated to Maltese fishers reporting being threatened by the Tunisians wielding ma- chetes and Molotov cocktails. Videos shared at the time showed Gozitan fishers chasing Tunisian boats suspected of steal- ing their catch, while in another clip, the Italian coast guard was seen firing warning shots at a Tu- nisian vessel. Nationalist MEP Peter Agius says Maltese fishers are being robbed of their lampuki In 2019, MaltaToday had started reporting on how Maltese lampuki fishers had seen their catches plundered by Tunisian counterparts in what was a veritable war on the high seas MAYA GALEA mgalea@mediatoday.com.mt HR Manager: PM office inquiry into orchestra harassment case reached no verdict TWO witnesses gave testimo- ny in the ongoing case against former Malta Philharmonic Or- chestra CEO Sigmund Mifsud, which continued before Magis- trate Gabriella Vella. Mifsud is currently facing charges of disrupting evidence of a case, abuse of power and obstruction of justice in rela- tion to a sexual harassment in- cident within the orchestra. In a brief court sitting on Tuesday, Franco Camilleri, a musician in the National Or- chestra since 2006 testified about the 34-year-old man from Gozo who admitted to sexually harassing another or- chestra member. Camilleri explained that he was friends with both the ac- cused and the victim, noting that the interactions he ob- served appeared normal and showed no suspicious behavior. The convicted man was placed under a restraining or- der, as well as a suspended sen- tence, after admitting to having sexually harassed a young fe- male orchestra musician over a span of more than three years. Reuben Sammut, the or- chestra's Human Resources Manager, also testified that he had been asked to provide ev- idence before a three-member board at the Prime Minister's Office. He confirmed that the board's investigation into the accused did not result in a final verdict or sentence. In the previous court sitting, Mifsud himself had testified, admitting that he had made a mistake, but strongly denied telling the accused man to lie. During cross-examination, Mifsud replied that numerous inaccuracies had been pub- lished, and the articles created the impression that he was re- sponsible for the harassment, which was damaging his repu- tation. The case was adjourned to 11 November at 12:45 pm. The prosecution was led by Inspec- tors Kevin Pulis and Gabriel Micallef. Mifsud is being rep- resented by lawyers Edward Gatt, Mark Vassallo, and Shaun Zammit. Lawyer Roberto Spi- teri appeared parte civile. Sigmund Mifsud