The most notable new measures are the 10 kilos per day per maximum catch for each fisherman, the opening of the season on 15th August, and the need for the fish to be larger than 35cm. However, these apply to all member states, she explained.

Bugeja Said stated that Malta “worked hard to negotiate a decent quota for local fishing enthusiasts” explaining that the first proposal only allowed hobbyists to catch one lampuka per day.

“Today, hobbyists can catch up to 10 kilos every day or 70 kilos a week, this means that a boat with three fishermen can catch up to 30 kilos every day.”

“Peter,” she said, addressing the MEP, “this is all populism from your end and unfortunately this campaign of misinformation is misleading Malta’s fishing enthusiasts. I understand that you’re just starting in the European Parliament but I hoped that you’d do your research and also understand how these laws are drawn up.

As she was addressing Agius, screenshots of comments posted by the MEP popped up on the screen.

“In the past, we used to fish behind Santa Marija and we were the only ones to catch the lampuka. Now it has become everyone’s catch. If there is a rule, it must apply to everyone, I will never accept that Malta is at a disadvantage,” the comment reads.

Lovin Malta reached out to Agius for a response to Said’s video. This was his reply:

“Tunisian and Italian fishermen have been landing lampuki since the end of July. If, as Mrs Bugeja Said says, there was an EU rule to start fishing only on 15/8, then it seems the Maltese are the only ones sticking to the deal. Maltese consumers and the fishing community are concerned with the effective impact of decisions and not with paper negotiation efforts.”

“Let us keep in mind that the lampuki fishery has a key role in Maltese culture and diet since the ages and we were the first to exploit this resource. We need to defend our interests in Europe and ensure that if there has to be rules, these are observed by others around us.”

“Given the lack of action by the government in this regard I take it upon myself as a Maltese MEP to ask the European Commission to investigate out-of-season lampuki fishing by Italian and Tunisian fisheries with a view to safeguarding Maltese fishing rights as from next season. I am writing to European Commissioner for Fisheries Virginius Sinkevicius on the matter today.”

Said’s clarification comes after Agius posted a video on the 13th of August, prior to the start of the season, sharing videos of Italian fishermen boasting their catch of the lampuka. Here, he said criticised the fact that Malta was being subject to rules that other countries were not or were not following.

Do you think that Malta should be trying harder to ensure that these rules are being followed everywhere?