Maltese fishermen are being undercut by others across the Mediterranean, casting their nets well before lampuki season opens in mid-August, MEP Peter Agius has warned the European Commission.

EU rules say that fishing for lampuki using fishing aggregated devices (FADs), floating nets widely used to catch fish such as lampuki and tuna, can only be carried out between August 14 and the end of the year.

But, according to Agius, “numerous reports from Maltese fishermen and social media communications of fishermen in Tunisia and Sicily” show that nets are being cast as early as July.

In a question sent to the commission, Agius argued that this puts fishermen who play by the book at a disadvantage, with a catastrophic effect on their catches.

Data suggests that Maltese fishermen caught some 160 tonnes (roughly 145,000 kilogrammes) of lampuki throughout 2024, Agius said, “barely half of the corresponding catch last year”.

Agius asked the commission whether it will be amending its rules to ensure a level playing field among all fishermen across the Mediterranean and how it is monitoring whether fishermen across the region are playing by the rules.

Catches down, prices up

Last summer was marked by unusually high lampuki prices, with reports of the fish sold for €15 per kilo, triple the price of just a few years earlier.

By October, halfway into the season, Maltese fishermen had caught just 76,000 kilogrammes, a fraction of the 375,000 kilogrammes netted during the previous year’s season.

Experts and local fishermen, as well as Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo, had pinned the blame on unusually warm sea temperatures, saying that climate change is wreaking havoc on lampuki’s typical migratory patterns.

Meanwhile, fishing junior minister Alicia Bugeja Said had pointed to Spain’s new predilection for lampuki fishing as a possible cause for the drop in numbers, saying that “it’s possible Spain is catching a significant number (of lampuki) before they reach Maltese waters”.