Updated | Tuna festival wares were legally-caught artisanal catch - ministry

Environmental campaigners against the exploitation of Bluefin stocks have raised concerns over the rural ministry's celebration of tuna fishing at the annual 'Festa tat-Tonn', hosted last weekend in Marsaxlokk in collaboration with Malta's tuna farming industry from the Maltese Acquaculture Federation (FMAP).

The fish4tomorrow campaign, which is being steered by Nature Trust, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Shakrlab, Greenhouse and GetUpStandUp, accused the ministry for resources and rural affairs of promoting the sale of unsustainably-caught tuna.

"The tuna fishing season ended over seven weeks ago, which means that any tuna sold and consumed during the festival was either illegally fished out of season or originated from the tuna ranches," Francesca Vella, a spokesperson for the campaign, said.

Tuna landings increased by 51% in the April-May-June season of 2012, compared to the 2011, reaching 118,712kg. The wholesale value increased 112.2% - €1,289,115 in total.

The rural affairs ministry has denied the allegations, while a FMAP spokesperson insisted that all tuna quotas for Malta was allocated to artisanal fishermen.

"All the fish used during the festival was legally caught under authorized quotas. The allocations for the tuna catch this year were carried out in agreement with fishermen and were awarded to artisanal fishermen as well," the ministry said in a statement.

FMAP spokesperson John Refalo said all acquaculture producers' tuna stocks were from foreign operations.

Bluefin tuna stocks are nearing extinction according to scientists and environmental campaigners, which accuse intensive tuna farming industries in Spain and Malta of having overfished young tuna, or under-declared their stocks.

Campaigners like Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have been on the forefront in attracting international awareness one the plight of the tuna and the Maltese industry that farms it.

"In recent years, the oceans' Bluefin tuna stocks have been drastically depleted through overfishing, to such an extent that they are fast approaching a state beyond recovery.

"The situation is especially severe in the Mediterranean, where Malta has become infamous as a main player in the tuna industry. Fish4tomorrow considers it unjustifiable that the country, which is heavily contributing to the rapid decline of tuna stocks, should host an event encouraging its consumption," Francesca Vella, a spokesperson for the campaign, said.

Tuna ranching involves catching young wild tuna and fattening them in cages to be sold out of season, primarily to Japanese markets.

"This has led to massive overfishing and, as a result, the EU has imposed fishing quotas in an attempt to limit the damage of this practice. However, on the downside, the traditional local fisherman is finding it close to impossible to compete with industry-scale fisheries for these quotas," Vella said.

"We would have liked to see a festival supporting local artisanal fishers and their sustainable catch. However, the ministry has opted, rather, to hold an event promoting the sale of unsustainably-caught tuna.

"We urge the public to support local small-scale fishers, who risk their lives to bring us delicious fresh fish, and to try and eat fish which are caught using more environmentally-friendly methods," Vella said.

A spokesperson for the FMAP said tuna farming in the Mediterranean was being carried out according to standing fishing plans, and that the quota had been reduced in a bid to increase fishing stocks considerably and reduce tuna fishing vessels. "That is why tuna fishing is sustainable. Tody we are seeing encouraging results that make us hopeful for the future. It is certain that today there is no danger of tuna stocks collapse," lawyer John Refalo said.

As an EU member, Malta participates in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), which establishes quotas to ensure Bluefin tuna catches are sustainable.

"Malta always adhered to the rules and it has strengthened its administrative capacity to ensure all fishing is carried out under the rules and sustainably. Our controls earned the praise of the European Commission," the ministry said.

The rural affairs ministry said it wanted to seek a balance between economic development and the sustainability of the species and the conservation of marine biodiversity. "This doesn't mean the tuna festival was against those aims of ensuring the species' sustainability. Fish caught legally is there to be consumed."