An AFM patrol apprehended the French vessel within Malta’s 25 mile conservation zone without necessary permit. The Maltese authority has charged the captain of a French-flagged fishing vessel for illegally fishing in its waters. According to a local source the vessel’s French owner, who is an associate of local fishing market leader Azzopardi Fisheries, also faces charges over shipping and fishing irregularities in Libya. The court has granted provisional liberty to Fontanet Silvere and Serge Antoine Jose Perez on a €116,000 guarantee.
It is said that ‘Saint Antoine Marie’ is a purse-seiner fishing boat licensed to fish for bluefin tuna by the international conservation authority, ICCAT. The ship was intercepted in Maltese waters after the Directorate of Fisheries received reports of suspicious activity within the 25-mile conservation zone, in which a special licence is required for any type of fishing.
The captain of the ship has told the local police investigators that the tuna had been legally caught outside Malta’s conservation zone, and that the vessel had unintentionally drifted into Maltese waters after its VMS system allegedly broke down. The reflagging of the original Manara I and Manara II is likewise being investigated locally, after the matter was reported to the European Commission and ICCAT by international conservation organisations, Greenpeace and WWF.
Transport Minister Austin Gatt ordered the investigation. It said that any tuna supplied by the Manara I and II, or their namesakes in Libya, was not to be accepted. Fisheries Director Anthony Gruppetta told that the catch in this case was not considered particularly large by international fishing standards. It is true that bluefin tuna fishing is a highly controversial issue on Europe, with conservation groups warning its extinction precisely.
