The Maltese government has reaffirmed its position on tuna fishing, stating that partial fishing quotas are not to be used as a reference for the final allocation between European Union Member states when the issue is brought up for discussion.
Through Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino, the government added that tuna fishing represents a third of the economic activity generated from fishing in Malta.
During his intervention at the Council of Minister, Minister Pullicino stated that Maltese fishermen always used traditional ways of fishing and are hence less likely to cause damages to the sustainability of tuna in the Mediterranean. He added that Malta has always observed the recommendations the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), for Malta to respect its allocated quota.
The Minister also reminded that the quota of the new EU members in for the first time going to be included in the total quota of the bloc, and will hence inevitably be discussed among Member States.
See also:
Greater effort required to prevent overfishing in EU states
By Ruth Davies
Jan 20, 2006, 19:51 CET
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