Labour MEP says traditional fishermen being squeezed ever harder

Labour MEP Alfred Sant has told the European Parliament that the rights and interests of traditional fishermen in member states, especially in small island communities like Malta, should be safeguarded against unsustainable fishing quotas.

“The EU is not respecting the rights and interests of traditional fishermen both within and outside the EU,” the former prime minister said.

“Traditional fishermen rightly feel that they are being placed in an unsustainable position. Fishing quotas have been assigned to member states on a one-size-fits-all basis, as in the allocation of tuna quotas in the Mediterranean.

“Also in the way by which the quota system and the discards arrangements have been designed, small scale traditional fishermen were squeezed even harder, while incentives were implemented to encourage them to give up their work. The lifework of these fishermen, if it is maintained and encouraged, could in no way undermine the operations of the single  market in the fisheries sector.”

Sant voted in favour of reservations in favour of a sustainable fisheries partnership agreement between the EU and the Republic of Senegal. He told the EP that it was important that fisheries agreements concluded by the EU with third countries from the developing world seek to safeguard the rights of traditional fishermen while allowing for the modern development of the fisheries industry.