Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights Anton Refalo addressed the opening of an information seminar for tuna farm operators.
The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, which falls within the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights, is launching the third seminar out of a series of five on greater awareness of the importance of the common fisheries policy and European Commission regulations in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
This seminar focuses on two cardinal points: informing and explaining to participants what their obligations are while listening to their difficulties in being able to discuss and bring these problems to the forefront of European related discussion forums. This initiative is one of several projects that the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture is implementing to strengthen fisheries monitoring and control.
Minister Anton Refalo said that, “Malta imports around 9,000 tonnes of tuna per year between the six local tuna farms which between them produce an exported amount which makes us the largest production status in all the partner countries in the Commission for International Organization for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). In line with current policy, the government is committed to strengthening this Maltese industry and therefore felt the need to address one of these seminars to tuna farm operators. The main reason is the need for this industry to be able to grow and comply with ICCAT and European laws. “
