Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/257374
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2014 8 JAMES DEBONO ILLEGAL trawling of fish may have been a commonplace activity be- fore 2013: since the establishment of Malta's first-ever control room to monitor vessels inside the fisheries management zone, 21 cases of illegal fishing and trawling were reported last year. But just two cases of illegal trawling inside the FMZ were reported be- tween 2009 and 2012. The FMS is a 25-mile conserva- tion zone surrounding Malta, where trawling is only allowed in a number of designated areas. Now a staff of five monitor boats inside the FMZ as they conduct their fishing activity, using the vessel monitoring systems (VMS) aboard boats and monitoring them on a 24-7 basis, even on public holidays. All 23 cases which have been investigated have been found to be non-compliant with fish- ing rules, but some cases have not been finalised and legal action is still pending. In total, the fisheries protection officers de- tected 17 cases of illegal activity by trawlers inside the FMZ, using the vessel monitoring system, and six other cases using the automatic identification system (AIS). Trawling is presently permitted in 12 desig- nated zones within the marine conservation area. None of the trawling zones are in marine protection areas, or any other conservation ar- eas established to date. Malta's exclusive fishing zone, which extends to 25 nautical miles from the island's baselines, was declared in 1971 in accordance with the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. On EU accession in 2004, this zone was main- tained as a Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ), the first of its kind in the Mediterranean, with an overall area of 6,735 square kilometres. The aim of the FMZ is to protect the fisheries re- sources of Malta's sea area and the ecosystems on which they depend. As a rule, only vessels smaller than 12 metres are allowed to fish within the zone since these are considered as boats which practice small- scale coastal fishing and therefore the least harmful to the ecological re- gime within the zone. But trawlers smaller than 24 metres in length are al- lowed to trawl in specified areas within the FMZ. As a further restriction, in areas where the depth of the sea floor is less than 200 metres, such as Hurd's Bank, these trawlers must also have an engine capacity that does not exceed 185kW (250 horse- power). Vessels over 24 metres in length, along with those ves- sels over 12m that are au- thorised to carry out fishing operations within the FMZ, are obliged to carry the required electronic tracking equipment on board at all time. Of the only eight vessels officially allowed to trawl inside the FMZ, four – the Stella del Mar, the Hannibal 1, the Degre and Liberty 5 – are just under the 24-metre limit for trawlers. In 2013, one vessel was granted a scientific li- cence to trawl once in the north-east of Malta's marine protected areas, for which no conserva- tion measures are yet established. This permit was issued for the GAP II scientific survey, which is being undertaken in order to inves- tigate spawning and nursery areas within the FMZ. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt TIM AT TARD MONTALTO SEVERAL mayors across vari- ous localities in Malta and Gozo have agreed that a new local en- forcement system is necessary, as government plans to take over the deployment of wardens in Maltese streets. Last week, the Parliamentary Sec- retary for Local Government José Herrera outlined plans to create a new centralised unit to take over the manning of local wardens. The reform aims at making wardens "friendlier" and better received by the public, by removing the need to finance the private companies that are providing them with a steady stream of fines. Pledging a 30% reduction in costs, Herrera's solution will be to turn the LES into a national unit of wardens serving councils, rather than the private operators taking over 70% of the total fines issued over the years. But uncollected fines and a de- cline in contraventions and speed- ing offences being committed has rendered the system unsustainable to run, as costs increase and rev- enues fall. Described by Herrera as "fairer and more transparent" system, the key change would be to grant the current management committee that runs the LES the power to cre- ate a centralised unit to enforce the laws delegated to the five regional committees. MaltaToday contacted several mayors across Malta and Gozo to see what they made of the pro- posed changes to the system. While some local councils declined to comment, the general consensus seemed to be that a change was in fact necessary. The mayor of Swieqi, Noel Mus- cat, said that there was "no doubt" that the current system had to be adjusted. "More wardens are nec- essary, and it is even more impor- tant to make sure wardens do their job – something which has not al- ways been the case." Muscat said that a report identi- fying the areas where local warden fines had been issued, showed him that these prime "catchment areas" were not the ones that needed the most surveillance. "What the re- port showed me was that the ar- eas needing surveillance the most – the commercial areas – were, in fact, the places where the least number of tickets were being is- sued," he said. Muscat said this clearly showed that the wardens were not going where their 'help' was really need- ed. "We want wardens to help and educate the public, but the reality is that people's perception of war- dens is not going to go away just like that." However Muscat asked whether councils would have to make up for losses incurred in the financing of a new national unit for local en- forcement. "If this new unit had to make losses, who will be made to pay for these losses? Will the gov- ernment fork out the money or will the local councils have to do so?" Mosta mayor Shirley Farrugia said that a reform of the system was "definitely called for" but said the emphasis should be on how to reinvest money earned into the lo- calities. "Despite the fact that a lot of money was being generated, the vast majority of it is not being rein- vested into the localities," she said, hinting at the costliness of running the CCTV systems and employing wardens. According to one report by he OPM's management efficiency unit seen by MaltaToday, between 2003 and 2008 wardens and speed cam- eras issued a total of 1.6 million tickets at a value of €56 million. The actual number of tickets paid was much lower, with 'only' €39 million received by local councils – leaving well over 25% of unpaid tickets in bad debts. The system is costly to run. Of the €23 million in cost, €19 million was the cost of wardens (53%) and IT services (31%) for the running of the speed cameras by Datatrak. The rest went to other direct costs – leaving little for local councils. News New control centre discovers widespread illegal trawling Mayors give 'thumbs up' to a new local enforcement system CONVICTED murderer Cikku Fenech, 74, has passed away, MaltaToday has learnt. He was living in an elderly home. In the 60s, Fenech had given rise to one of the largest man-hunts in Maltese criminal history after murdering Frangisk Vella in Mosta in 13 June 1963. To escape the clutches of the law, Fenech abandoned his home in Mosta and went on the run without telling his relatives where he was going. For more than three months, Fenech lived in caves in the Gnejna area and roamed around other parts of the island, evading intense police patrols. Fenech eventually decided to give him- self up on 28 September 1963, after being assured of a fair trial and no police brutal- ity, through a third party who acted as a broker between Fenech and the police. As agreed with the police, Fenech was apprehended in Floriana near the fountain in St Anne Street, much to the amazement of then-police commissioner De Gray. It was the fear of being handed down the death penalty, still an integral part of criminal law at the time, that made Cikku Fenech evade justice. In an interview he gave in 2004, Fenech recalled those times: "I did not want to end up hanged like a rabbit. I told no one about my whereabouts, I couldn't trust anyone." During the prosecution, the Crown's Advocate Victor Borg Costanzi had asked for the death penalty. Convicted murderer Cikku Fenech passes away "A vast amount of funds generated by wardens are not going to localities" – Mosta mayor