Two months after the European Commission launched infringement proceedings against Malta over the failure to release some 3,500 tuna kept in cages for almost a year, the situation remains unsolved, The Shift reports.
The fish were caught by Italian and French fishermen and sold to Maltese pens in early summer 2019, outside the deadline imposed by the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT).
The fish, which account for hundreds of thousands of kilograms in volume, have remained in their cages since then. "We have been asking for the release of these fish,” WWF’s regional manager on bluefin tuna Alessandro Buzzi said.
"We are worried about the mortality rate of the fish being towed for so long, as well as the potential for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by having the cages with the fish being kept far from land without any controls,” he added.
An EU statement also revealed that Malta had failed to implement a management plan rolled out by the ICCAT two years ago, as well as EU regulations, denying inspectors "access to waters under Maltese jurisdiction."
The pens, for their part, are at an unknown location, which is part of the reason why it has not been possible to demonstrate if they are in Maltese waters or not, according to The Shift.
July 20, 2020 at 05:11PM
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One year on, 3500 tuna still stuck in Maltese cages due to legal impasse - Undercurrent News
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