Malta seeks green light for 15 boats

Malta has asked Libya to allow 15 Maltese boats to fish within the declared Libyan Fishing Preservation Zone at any one time during the year.

The request was made in a note verbal that Foreign Minister Michael Frendo handed over to Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem during a short visit to Libya.

The meeting was held in Sirte on Thursday evening, the government said yesterday. The Libyan Prime Minister promised to give his attention to the representations made by the minister.

Last April, Libya unilaterally declared a 62-mile fishing conservation zone which includes areas where Maltese vessels often fish. The Libyan declaration raised the ire of local fishermen who feared the loss of their traditional fishing grounds and has been the subject of diplomatic meetings between the two countries ever since. Maltese fishermen have so far not been stopped from fishing in the zone, it emerged when Parliament recently approved a Bill empowering the Prime Minister to extend Malta's fishing waters and maritime jurisdiction in response to the Libyan action and a similar Tunisian declaration.

The detailed note verbal delivered by Dr Frendo refers to the recently received coordinates of the Libyan zone and explains its effects on the Maltese fishing industry.

Referring to the historical rights of Maltese fishermen in the area, it states that Maltese vessels have in the past, and up to the date of the declaration by Libya, fished in waters that are now being delineated by Libya as a fishing zone.

Maltese fishing vessels are generally owned by a single fisherman, family groups or very small companies. None of these vessels in this sector are owned by big commercial companies.

Moreover, they are definitely of a very limited capacity and do not constitute a threat to fish stocks, the Libyans were told.

The Directorate of Fisheries in the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment has established from its studies that, although 108 Maltese vessels fish in the area, not more than 15 vessels are present there at any point of time during the year.

The note verbal requests the presence in the area of 15 Maltese fishing vessels from a list of 108 at any one time throughout the year.

These boats would target swordfish, blue fin tuna and demersal species and would continue to use drifting surface long-lines and set bottom long-lines, and demersal otter-board trawls.

In the meeting with the Libyan PM, Dr Frendo discussed bilateral issues related to existing agreements between Malta and Libya, the holding of the Malta-Libya Joint Commission, and collaboration in education including the setting up of a joint campus in Tripoli with the University of Malta and its Rome-based LinkCampus.

Mr Ghanem said Libya needed English language teachers in both the primary and secondary levels. "Maltese teachers of English would be welcome in Libya for the purpose," he said.

Dr Frendo and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who was in Sirte at the time, held a joint meeting with Dr Ghanem to discuss possible Libyan participation in the Barcelona Process.