Two Maltese fishermen who were injured in a clash with tuna fishing protesters off Libya arrived at Mater Dei Hospital at midnight tonight on board an Italian Military Mission helicopter after having been airlifted off their trawler some 65 miles south of Malta.
They were greeted by, among others, members of their families and Resources Minister George Pullicino.
The clash, with volunteers from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, took place on Thursday afternoon some 35 miles off Libya as a trawler and a support vessel were towing a tuna pen to Malta.
One of the fishermen, Reuben Silvio, a diver on the trawler Rosaria Tuna operated by 'Fish and Fish', was injured when the environmentalists attempted to hook up and damage the tuna-pen.
One of the volunteers from the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin reportedly threw a grapnel at the tuna pen to tear it. The fisherman scrambled onto the pen to remove the hook and suffered a ripped arm when the environmentalists pulled it back. A quantity of tuna managed to escape from the pen.
The fisherman requires treatment for a ripped arm caused by a fishing hook. Also injured was diver Joe Barry who was apparently hit by a rubber bullet.
CREW 'SHOCKED'
Joe Caruana one of the owners of Fish and Fish, said as he greeted the men at Mater Dei that the crew were shocked by what had happened.
He said the crew of the Sea Shepherd had been the aggressors and, he claimed, they even used ammonia and rubber bullets. He said the Sea Shepherd crew first attacked the tuna pen using a dinghy and then their ship rammed the tuna pen. (The conservation group has denied the claims, see separate story)
Mr Pullicino condemned the act of aggression. He said everyone had a right to express different views but everything had to be done within a legal framework. He insisted that the fishermen had acted legally and were earning an honest living.
The Maltese search and rescue authorities were informed of the incident by the fishermen and the Libyan authorities had been expected to provide medical evacuation but none turned up by early in the evening.
The injured fishermen were transferred to the trawler Cesaro Rustico which headed closer to Malta so that the medical airlift could take place by the joint Italian-Maltese helicopter crew.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is conducting a campaign against tuna fishing in the Mediterranean.
GOVERNMENT SOLIDARITY
The government in a statement expressed solidarity with the Maltese fishermen and said the tuna was caught legally.
SEA SHEPHERD GIVES DIFFERENT VERSION OF EVENTS
Meanwhile, the Sea Shepherd said its ship, the Steve Irwin has identified two purse seiners 'committing illegal activities' of the Libyan coast. The ship approached the suspicious vessels, the Italian seiner Cesare Rustico and the Tagreft and notified the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) of possible violations.
The group said the trawlers were towing two cages, one cage contained about 800 fish and the other appeared empty. The Captain of the Cesare Rustico reported that all the tuna were caught on the morning of the 14th by the vessel Tagreft, the last legal day before the EU ban. Sea Shepherd noted that the number of tuna in the cage exceeded the quota for the Tagreft, in response the Captain said the cage also included bluefin from eight other seiners.
“This was sounding most convenient so we asked to examine the fish for juveniles and they refused. I put the bow of the Steve Irwin close to the cage and we tied off to hold onto the cage so that we could examine it further,” said Captain Paul Watson, founder and president of Sea Shepherd.
"The vessel Rosaria Tuna rammed the Steve Irwin on the aft port side and slid alongside the port rail as a fishermen tried to gaff Sea Shepherd crew members with a long hook on a pole. The Steve Irwin crew retaliated with eight litres of rotten butter forcing the seiner to retreat."
PN CONDEMNS AGGRESSION
In a statement, the Nationalist Party described the Sea Shepherd's actions as fanatical, putting Maltese fishermen’s life and limb in jeopardy.
It noted that Maltese fishermen were engaged in perfectly lawful activities and there were other ways and means how the Sea Shepherd could voice its message and wage its campaign.
See also
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100618/local/anti-tuna-campaign-denies-injuring-fishermen-says-it-freed-800-tuna