Maltese fishermen fear repercussions

Maltese fishermen fear the repercussions of a heavy fine imposed on a Sicilian skipper caught fishing illegally in Maltese waters.

The boat's skipper should have been let off with a warning and not fined €35,000, the president of the fisheries cooperative, Ray Bugeja said.

He was speaking of 44-year-old Francesco Giancalone who was slapped with the hefty fine on Tuesday after he admitted to fishing illegally in Maltese waters the day before.

"The laws of every country should obviously be respected but common sense must also prevail," he said.

In fact, Mr Bugeja said it was an open secret that fishermen from both countries sailed into each other's waters but everyone turned a blind eye. "More than a fifth of the lampuki (dolphin fish) sold locally is caught from Sicilian waters," he said.

"Although no local fishermen were caught fishing illegally, the foreign authorities were always lenient with them for lesser offences," he continued.

Mr Bugeja said a fisherman was caught in Italian waters without the necessary safety equipment last summer but was only made to sail back home and retrieve it.

"I called the authorities myself to explain that they were dealing with a fisherman who suffered from health problems and they assured me they would not take the issue any further," he said.

Speaking of the Sicilian crew, he said it would be very difficult for them to pay the fine before leaving the island as they had been ordered to do by the courts.

"Moreover, he (the skipper) lost more than €20,000 worth of fish, which was confiscated even though he could not have caught it all in one day," Mr Bugeja continued.

"No one is above the law, far from it, but had this been his second time he would have deserved a fine. The fishermen here are not pleased with the situation because if this continues there will definitely be repercussions," he concluded.

Fishermen had also expressed solidarity with Sicilian fisherman Rosolino Paternostro, 48, who had been fined €40,000 and imprisoned for a week after he was found guilty of catching about €400 worth of fish in Maltese waters last July.

kbugeja@timesofmalta.com