The parliamentary secretary for fisheries has underlined the need for effective measures to ensure sustainability in the Mediterranean, insisting at an EU ministerial meeting that non-EU countries should also be encouraged to adopt the same sustainability measures as EU fishermen. 

Bugeja Said told the Luxembourg meeting that there should be equality among all countries of the region.

“It is a fact that third countries are fishing in the Mediterranean without implementing or enforcing the same laws being followed by fishermen in Malta and other EU countries. There is a need for regional equality," she insisted.

The ministerial meeting discussed aspects of the Common Fisheries Policy, with Malta insisting that the focus should be on regeneration, particularly by attracting young people to the sector, the government said in a statement.