Inflated fish landings spark smuggling front fears

Fish landings statistics published by the environment ministry have raised eyebrows in the fishing industry, especially in light of recent events which saw a number of men arrested and kidnapped in Libya while two men were killed in car bomb explosions.

Figures in a report published in September show that in 2014 alone Maltese lampara fishermen hauled nearly a staggering 1,000 tonnes of fish, worth over €4.1 million (one tonne is 1,000 kgs).

The inexplicably large nighttime catches by fishermen, the lax controls and a lack of monitoring of the movement of vessels by the customs and fisheries departments have sparked fears that the fishing industry is being used as a front for criminal organisations involved in the smuggling of fuel, drugs and weapons.

Irrespective of their tonnage, all lampara vessels are fitted with a tracking system and are requested to complete a catch book in order to monitor their fishing activity.

MaltaToday is informed that vessels are never inspected upon their return, making it very easy for fishermen to tamper with the figures provided to authorities and the vessels are unloaded without being checked.

Sources say that this is probably being exploited for smuggling and money laundering purposes.

Recent reports in the foreign press have linked Maltese fishermen with Libyan smuggling lords and in recent years a number of fishermen or people connected to the industry were arrested and kidnapped in Libya.

Over the years, Libyan and Maltese authorities have been in talks aimed to curb the smuggling of fuel between the two countries.

Earlier this month, on 16 January, Martin Cachia was killed in a car bomb explosion. The blast occurred in his car while he was driving it. Cachia, a registered fisherman, was previously investigated over drug trafficking, human smuggling and contraband cigarettes, and was part of a probe into the smuggling of fuel from Libya.

In 2013, two Maltese, Kevin McManus and Matthew Piscopo, were arrested by Libyan authorities on two boats sailing from Libya towards Malta, allegedly shipping thousands of litres of diesel illegally.

In the same year, two men were arraigned over the shipping of thousands of illegally-manufactured bullets to Libya. The two men, Michael Azzopardi and Feraj Issa Ali Yacoob, were accused of shipping the Gozitan manufactured bullets via sea vessels which moored at Marsamxett harbour.

Last year, a Maltese fishermen, Carmelo Grech, was arrested by Libyan authorities after being caught carrying over €300,000 in cash, but upon his release three weeks later, the sea captain claimed he was detained over a visa blunder.

14 vessels haul 928 tonnes of fish

The staggering amount of fish caught by lampara fishermen is more astounding given that the fleet is made up of only 14 vessels.

Industry sources told MaltaToday that of these 14 vessels authorised to work within the Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ), only six or seven are equipped for lampara fishing. 

In 2014, lampara production amounted to 928 metric tonnes, with a market value of €4,133,089, which represents 39% of the total landings by weight and 27% of the selling value of Maltese fishermen.

The catch is all the more surprising when compared to the figures in 2010, when a larger fleet caught 120 tonnes of fish, mainly consisting of mackerel and European sprat.

Moreover, all stocks targeted by the Maltese lampara fishery are stocks shared with Sicily due to the population distribution over the Malta Bank, which connects the Maltese islands with Sicily.

Though the Maltese fleet is much smaller than the Sicilian, Maltese lampara fishermen have a larger share than their Italian counterparts.

The staggering amount of fish caught by lampara fishermen is more astounding given that the fleet is made up of only 14 vessels.

In 2013, Maltese catches of Chub Mackerel and Round Sardinella increased to 303.2 tonnes and 216.8 tonnes respectively.

This represented 38% and 82% of the respective catches made by the combined Maltese and Italian fleets, which in total amounted to 1,059.7 tonnes.

Industry sources said that a haul of 928 metric tonnes in one year is unheard of. The catch translates into 61,000 boxes of 15kg each or some 4,300 boxes of fish per registered lampara vessel.

The lampara season traditionally lasts five months, between April and August, and out of the 14 registered vessels only three have a gross tonnage capacity exceeding 50 tonnes. Three vessels have a gross tonnage below 10.

 “Normally, if a vessel hauls 200 or 300 boxes it would hit the jackpot, but at most this only happens a couple of times in a season. So when considering that the season is only five months long and there are times when the weather does not allow vessels to set sail, the lampara fishermen are either getting very lucky or there is something which does not add up,” an industry source said.

In contrast, 17 large vessels registered as trawlers collectively caught 73.65 tonnes of fish, with a market value of €1.8 million.

The ‘Fishing Effort Adjustment Plan for Lampara Fishery’ report aims at adjusting the fishing capacity of the registered lampara fishing fleet and to manage the fishing effort to achieve a more sustainable fishing sector.

The report concludes that the lampara fleet should be reduced by at least two vessels, underlining the control measures employed by the Maltese authorities.

The Lampara

Lampara fishery or purse seine fishing is a technique which must be carried out at night by at least three vessels. A large wall of netting is deployed around an entire area or school of fish attracted by a light, hence the name lampara.

The seine has floats along the top line with a lead line threaded through rings along the bottom. Once a school of fish is located, a skiff encircles the school with the net.

The lead line is then pulled in, “pursing” the net closed on the bottom, preventing fish from escaping by swimming downward. The catch is harvested by either hauling the net aboard or bringing it alongside the vessel.

The fish most commonly caught by lampara fishermen in Maltese waters include mackerel, sardines and bogue.