Greenpeace yesterday morning stepped up its campaign against the overfishing of tuna in the Mediterranean with activists attempting to board and chain themselves to two ships berthed in the Grand Harbour.

A violent scuffle broke out between crew and, on the receiving end, Greenpeace activists during the attempted boarding, after which the police and inspectors from the Fisheries Department were called in.

The organisation said both ships, control vessels for tuna penning operations – one of which is Maltese (the Santina) and the other Spanish (the Cabo Tinoso Dos), had returned on Saturday from Libyan waters – themselves more than a little murky when it comes to the adherence of internationally-established quota levels.

Upon trying to board and chain themselves to the vessels, Greenpeace activists were beaten back by surprised crew members.

At one point a female activist was punched repeatedly in the face as fellow crew members encouragingly shouted tiha, tiha (Let her have it). Some were thrown overboard and others were apparently threatened with their lives should they attempt to board again.

The quayside situation was diffused as Valletta Gateway Terminals security personnel arrived at the scene, followed by several police officers.

Greenpeace continued to request access to the ships’ documentation and to inspect them for any illicit tuna and after a tit for tat with the Fisheries Department, inspectors were sent in to board and inspect the vessels.

While an official report of the inspection was still being drafted by the Department at the time of writing, a government spokesperson contacted in the afternoon confirmed nothing suspicious had been found on board during the search.

In a statement issued in the wake of the incident, the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers accused Greenpeace of having “attempted by violence” to board the vessels and that the crew had “exercised all due restraints”.

Video footage released by the environmental organisation, however, puts the latter statement into considerable doubt.

It also added that the situation “could easily have had more serious consequences”, and pointed out that boarding a vessel in such a way against master’s orders constituted a breach of Maltese law that had rendered the activists liable to prosecution.

Saying it deplored “violence in all its forms”, the Federation added that the operators would have made the information requested available had they gone through the appropriate channels.

Greenpeace International Oceans Campaigner Francois Provost yesterday observed how, “Oversized industrial fishing fleets are putting bluefin tuna at risk of disappearing altogether.

“Governments should establish fully protected marine reserves on the species’ spawning grounds to start giving a chance for the population to recover.”

The management of bluefin tuna is entrusted to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), an intergovernmental organisation in which the European Union is an active and influential member. However, with this year’s ‘recovery plan’ still allowing legal fishing at 47 per cent above what scientists deem as the upper sustainable limit, Greenpeace said yesterday.

“It’s time to take the management of bluefin tuna away from ICCAT before it is too late,” adds John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA, also in Malta aboard the Rainbow Warrior.

“We want to see the Obama administration and other influential governments end international trade in this endangered species.”

Greenpeace has just completed a monitoring survey of the Central Mediterranean purse seine fishing grounds. Preliminary findings show that after over a decade of massive overfishing, illegal catches are still a significant problem across the Mediterranean region.

Moreover, the organisation notes, the amount and average size of the bluefin tuna captures are in serious decline, confirming the latest warnings of an imminent collapse of the stock.

Greenpeace advocates the creation of a network of no-take marine reserves, protecting 40 per cent of the world’s oceans, as the long-term solution to the overfishing of tuna and other species, and the recovery of our overexploited oceans.

ICCAT’s own scientists have been ringing the alarm bell on the dire state of the bluefin tuna stock, Greenpeace said in a statement yesterday, and has advised not to fish above a maximum of 15,000 tonnes, and to protect the species’ spawning grounds during the crucial months of May and June. The capacity of Maltese fisheries alone is estimated at 12,000 tonnes.

The actual total haul for 200, has been estimated at 61,000 tonnes, twice the legal limit for that year, and more than four times the recommended level to avoid collapse of the bluefin tuna population.

“As industrial fleets continue to rampage across the spawning grounds, local people, who have been fishing for generations, are now reduced to transferring the last of an endangered species to pens, to be fattened before being exported to the other end of the world,” Greenpeace added.

Meanwhile, Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry inspectors from the fisheries control division yesterday confirmed that boats contracted by a Maltese tuna farm which in the morning were involved in an incident with Greenpeace activists were not carrying any illegal tuna.

The inspectors were sent under the ministry’s continuing regular programme of controls and inspections to look over two boats acting as supporting vessels for the tuna farm. The aim is to ensure full respect for tuna fishing regulations, the ministry said.