Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/630594
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 JANUARY 2016 4 News IN 2013, two Maltese, Kevin Mc- Manus and Matthew Piscopo, were arrested by Libyan authorities on two boats sailing from Libya to- wards Malta, allegedly shipping thousands of litres of diesel ille- gally. In the same year, two men were arraigned over the shipping of thousands of illegally-manufac- tured bullets to Libya. The two men, Michael Azzopardi and Feraj Issa Ali Yacoob, were accused of shipping the Gozitan manufac- tured bullets via sea vessels which moored at Marsamxett harbour. Last year, a Maltese fishermen, Carmelo Grech, was arrested by Libyan authorities after being caught carrying over €300,000 in cash, but upon his release three weeks later, the sea captain claimed he was detained over a visa blun- der. 14 vessels haul 928 tonnes of fish The staggering amount of fish caught by lampara fishermen is more astounding given that the fleet is made up of only 14 vessels. Industry sources told MaltaTo- day that of these 14 vessels author- ised to work within the Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ), only six or seven are equipped for lampara fishing. In 2014, lampara production amounted to 928 metric tonnes, with a market value of €4,133,089, which represents 39% of the total landings by weight and 27% of the selling value of Maltese fishermen. The catch is all the more surpris- ing when compared to the figures in 2010, when a larger fleet caught 120 tonnes of fish, mainly consisting of mackerel and European sprat. Moreover, all stocks targeted by the Maltese lampara fishery are stocks shared with Sicily due to the population distribution over the Malta Bank, which connects the Maltese islands with Sicily. Though the Maltese fleet is much smaller than the Sicilian, Maltese lampara fishermen have a larger share than their Italian counter- parts. In 2013, Maltese catches of Chub Mackerel and Round Sardinella in- creased to 303.2 tonnes and 216.8 tonnes respectively. This represented 38% and 82% of the respective catches made by the combined Maltese and Italian fleets, which in total amounted to 1,059.7 tonnes. Industry sources said that a haul of 928 metric tonnes in one year is unheard of. The catch translates into 61,000 boxes of 15kg each or some 4,300 boxes of fish per regis- tered lampara vessel. The lampara season traditionally lasts five months, between April and August, and out of the 14 reg- istered vessels only three have a gross tonnage capacity exceeding 50 tonnes. Three vessels have a gross tonnage below 10. "Normally, if a vessel hauls 200 or 300 boxes it would hit the jack- pot, but at most this only happens a couple of times in a season. So when considering that the season is only five months long and there are times when the weather does not allow vessels to set sail, the lam- para fishermen are either getting very lucky or there is something which does not add up," an industry source said. In contrast, 17 large vessels regis- tered as trawlers collectively caught 73.65 tonnes of fish, with a market value of €1.8 million. The 'Fishing Effort Adjustment Plan for Lampara Fishery' report aims at adjusting the fishing capac- ity of the registered lampara fishing fleet and to manage the fishing ef- fort to achieve a more sustainable fishing sector. The report concludes that the lampara fleet should be reduced by at least two vessels, underlining the control measures employed by the Maltese authorities. The Lampara Lampara fishery or purse seine fishing is a technique which must be carried out at night by at least three vessels. A large wall of netting is deployed around an entire area or school of fish attracted by a light, hence the name lampara. The seine has floats along the top line with a lead line threaded through rings along the bottom. Once a school of fish is located, a skiff encircles the school with the net. The lead line is then pulled in, "pursing" the net closed on the bot- tom, preventing fish from escaping by swimming downward. The catch is harvested by either hauling the net aboard or bringing it alongside the vessel. The fish most commonly caught by lampara fishermen in Maltese waters include mackerel, sardines and bogue. +1/%*#ŏ10$+.%05 ŏŏ4,.!//%+*ŏ+"ŏ *0!.!/0ŏĨ ĩ +%(ŏ+1/%*#ŏ.+&!0/ *2%00%+*ŏ"+.ŏ0$!ŏ.+2%/%+*ŏ+"ŏ.+"!//%+*(ŏ !.2%!/ŏ5ŏ!.%0%ŏ0+ŏ0$!ŏ+1/%*#ŏ10$+.%05ŏ !"ċčŏ ŏĥŏĀĀāŏĥĂĀāćċ $!ŏ+1/%*#ŏ10$+.%05ŏ%/ŏ%*ŏ0$!ŏ,.+!//ŏ+"ŏ /!00%*#ŏ1,ŏŏ+2!.*)!*0ŏ+3*! ŏ+),*5ŏ%*ŏ +. !.ŏ0+ŏ$* (!ŏ0$!ŏ ),(!)!*00%+*ŏ* ŏ *#!)!*0ŏ+"ŏ0$!ŏ"+.0$+)%*#ŏ+%(ŏ +1/%*#ŏ.+&!0/ċŏ +.ŏ0$%/ŏ,1.,+/!ŏ* ŏ+*ŏ!$("ŏ+"ŏ0$!ŏ "+.0$+)%*#ŏ*!3ŏ+),*5Čŏ0$!ŏ+1/%*#ŏ 10$+.%05ŏ%/ŏ%//1%*#ŏ*ŏ ŏ"+.ŏę!.%0%Ěŏ3$+ŏ 3+1( ŏ!ŏ%*0!.!/0! ŏ%*ŏ+û!.%*#ŏ0$!ŏ*!!//.5ŏ ,.+"!//%+*(ŏ/!.2%!/ŏ%*ŏ+**!0%+*ŏ3%0$ŏ0$!ŏ +2!ŏ)!*0%+*! ŏ+%(ŏ+1/%*#ŏ.+&!0/ċ 1)%//%+*/ŏ)1/0ŏ!ŏ !,+/%0! ŏ5ŏ Ċ0$ŏ!.1.5ŏĂĀāćŏ0ŏāĀċĀĀ)ŏċ +.ŏ)+.!ŏ%*"+.)0%+*ŏ,(!/!ŏ2%/%0ŏ 33 333ċ$+1/%*#10$+.%05ċ#+2ċ)0ċŏ The staggering amount of fish caught by lampara fishermen is more astounding given that the fleet is made up of only 14 vessels. Fishing sector in the grip of fuel smuggling fears