Trappers will have to use larger net mesh sizes to avoid the capture of smaller bird, according to a legal notice issued on Friday, a day before the autumn trapping season opens.
The net mesh size has been increased from 30mm to 45mm.
Another new condition is that nets must removed or covered during the night and when the trapper leaves the site. Possessing an electronic bird caller has now also become illegal, where previously only their use was prohibited. Trapping sites found to contain illegal callers will be immediately taken off the register. Additionally, every trapper can now only register one site instead of two, with every station permitted to have a maximum of two nets.
The 2018 autumn trapping season will be open from October 20 to December 31. During these days trapping is permitted every day of the season (weekends included) from two hours before sunrise to two hours after sunset.
Read: Autumn trapping season expected to reopen after negotiations with Brussels
The surprise decision came just months after the European Court of Justice had slammed the door shut on finch trapping, in a judgement which was broadly expected to spell the end to the trapping of all species.
Parliamentary Secretary Clint Camilleri announced earlier this week that he was taking on board the Ornis recommendation to open a trapping season, following an "agreement" reached with the European Commission.
However, eNGO BirdLife said it was still not clear who the government had reached a deal with, and said that it has written to the Commission requesting more details.
“It is a known fact that the Commission never agrees deals on derogations with countries but only asks for justification after these are implemented,” the eNGO said.
“At this stage BirdLife Malta can only hope that the EC was not taken for a ride with promises by the Maltese government that it can control the quotas and ensure they are not surpassed. To think that just over 1,500 trappers will only catch the quota of 5,700 birds in two months and a half is nothing short of a farce."
The quotas for this season have been set at 700 Golden Plover and 5,000 Song Thrush.
It noted that 1,200 people were this year registered to trap these two bird species – meaning there were around 300 more who previously only used to trap finches.
In the meantime, BirdLife welcomed the publication of a list of registered trapping sites and their locations on the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) website.
Any illegal activity during the upcoming trapping season may be reported to the police on 119, to BirdLife Malta on 2134 7645/6 or on emergency (out of office hours) number 7925 5697, ideally with a GPS location and photos.
To view an interactive map of all the registered trapping sites across Malta, click here.