Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/881840
8 YANNICK PACE MALTESE artisanal fishermen are constantly losing out to other marine activities in the competi- tion for Malta's seas, according to a study carried out by the Dur- rell Institute for Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent and the Department of Geography at University College London. In a research paper published in the journal Applied Geograph it was found that artisanal fishermen have been forced to give up fishing grounds and co-exist with others "to the point where the ability to fish is becoming increasingly chal- lenging". In order to determine and quan- tify the challenges posed by a lack of space, the researchers mapped the distribution of vessels within three nautical miles of Malta's coast, using data from vessel track- ing systems, as well as the areas be- ing used for other activities. The marine activities considered to be competing for space with fishermen were shipping, bunker- ing, aquaculture, trawling, as well as areas marked as conservation zones, sewage outfall sites, spoil dumping sites and dive sites. The study also included a num- ber of interviews with fishermen and policy-makers. Using location data from a sam- ple of vessels making up 10.7% of the commercial fleet, the study found that 65% of fishing activ- ity takes place within areas domi- nated by shipping and bunkering activities. 44% takes place within Marine Protected Areas. It found that inshore artisanal fishing has become "squeezed by new uses which have colonized the marine zone", arguing that the primary reason for this is that fish- ing boundaries are "not recognised through a legal framework". This has led to the sector be- coming "somewhat invisible" and not properly acknowledged in the formulation of marine spatial poli- cies. Martin Caruana, an artisanal fisherman, and president of the Marsaxlokk Artisanal Fishers NGO, echoed this sentiment in comments to MaltaToday. He said that while there were not many official restrictions, the space available for fishing was be- coming increasingly smaller. One example, he said, was the part of Marsaxlokk bay which currently houses the LNG storage tanker. According to Caruana many small fishermen would previously, from time to time, cast their nets and traps in the area, however since the tanker's arrival, this was no longer possible. Similarly, Caruana said that in the past he used to fish at a par- ticular location off Delimara. "You wouldn't dream of going there now because you'd end up getting hit by a ship," he said, adding that it seemed as though there was al- ways "something new invading the territory". According to the research paper, despite there being no restrictive measures on Marine Protected Areas, "the current state of affairs indicates MPAs might be another encroachment onto the fishing grounds". Caruana said that the only area which so far included some restric- tions was the area around Filfa, but he warned that if this area were to be extended it would definitely elicit a reaction from fishermen. Amateur fishing threat Despite the fact that fishermen needed to compete with different marine activities for space on the sea, Caruana pointed out that the biggest threat to the livelihood of artisanal fisherman came from il- legal fishing, and a lack of enforce- ment by the authorities. He said there was no clear set of regulations stating what a person who isn't a registered fisherman is "allowed to do at sea". "At times, they end up fishing more than we do, not to men- tion the fact that compared to us, they're in a great majority," he said. "I and quite a few other fisher- men used to catch a fish called maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2017 News Artisanal fishermen being edged out Despite Ombudsman's recommendation, artisanal fishers still paying more than double the price for diesel MEMBERS of Marsaxlokk Arti- sanal Fishers, an NGO set up last year to protect the interests of small-scale fishermen, are still be- ing forced to pay more than double what other registered fishermen are paying for fuel, despite this practice being flagged as discrimi- natory by the office of the Om- budsman. Last May, the MAF filed a judicial protest against the Prime Minis- ter, then parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes, Fisheries direc- tor general Andreina Fenech Far- rugia and then transport minister Joe Mizzi. In it, they claimed the authorities' refusal to grant them duty-free diesel to which they are entitled, was blatant discrimina- tion and a breach of their right to freedom of association. The judi- cial protest went unanswered. According to the EU Directive on the 'taxation of energy products and electricity', member states are allowed to exempt registered fish- ermen from paying duty on fuel used to navigate in EU waters, and allow fishermen to buy fuel at a price of €0.44 per litre rather than €1.18. A few months after its inception MAF president Martin Caruana