The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Anton Refalo, together with the Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights Alicia Bugeja Said announced that for another year the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture is offering an opportunity for amateur fishermen to fish for lampuki. They announced that this will be done through the allocation of many shoots and ridges around the Maltese and Gozitan waters.
The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture has reached an agreement with the fishermen’s unions so that each of them will have allocated and reserved places. The amateur fishermen are encouraged to apply to the associations in order to fish with a feather on these same lines. Amateur fishermen with boats registered as MFC, S and Valletta are all eligible to apply for lampuki fishing.The Minister Anton Refalo noted that this project last year was a successful one and therefore the government saw that it continues to spread in this sector not only for commercializing fishermen but also for those -enthusiasts. “As a ministry, apart from continuing to be of help to those who earn their daily bread from this sector, we are ensuring that in the lampuki season from August 15 to the end of December those all who are amateur fishermen also enjoy lampuki fishing.”
Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said explained that “Last year, the government launched a pilot project, where the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture had reached an agreement with the Fishermen’s Unions to open the season for amateur fishermen who wish to fish with a feather in the cimi. This ensures that amateur fishermen have an opportunity to benefit from this very popular season, without disruption.”
Alicia Bugeja Said thanked all the workers within the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture as well as the amateur associations, who have already started doing a lot of work in preparation and if it wasn’t for them, such initiatives would not be possible.
This year, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture thought to marry technology with tradition through a mobile app that will be launched in the coming days, another positive step in favor of the work of every fisherman Maltese and Gozitan. This app will give a boost on two tracks: on the one hand, digitalization will considerably reduce bureaucracy, and help to adapt to technology that reduces waste and the use of paper. On the other hand, the information collected from this app through a logbook system, will help the Department keep a more up-to-date and efficient account of the quality and quantity of fish collected. In this way research and knowledge on the health and sustainability of our maritime ecosystem continues to increase.
Applications are open until Wednesday 10 August 2022. All interested fishermen are encouraged to apply. For more information fishermen are encouraged to call the Department on 2292 6888.
Photos: MAFA
