The Koperattiva Nazzjonali tas-Sajd Ltd (National Fishing Cooperative) has expressed disappointment that the government had made a number of promises but failed to keep them, even though it represents 95 per cent of Maltese fishermen; and certain decisions had been taken without them being consulted.

The cooperative said that in 2003, the government had said that the reimbursement of half the social security contributions would be replaced by an insurance scheme, but then it said this could not be done due to changes in EU regulations.

Since the government was committed with the fishermen however, it said it would continue working to find an alternative system, but the cooperative still had no reply in this regard.

Speaking about the hard standing facility in Marsaxlokk, the cooperative said it only got to know about the project when the plans had already been approved. As for fees, the cooperative got to know about them some time before the facility was opened and these were changed after it made its submissions.

The cooperative said it did not have enough time to make its submissions and it was later discovered that there was not enough room for fishing boats to be winched ashore.

The Koperattiva Nazzjonali tas-Sajd Ltd said that although it was promised that a solution to the problem would be found, two months after the facility opened it was still a problem when it came to simultaneous winching of fishing boats.

The cooperative added that only one power point was available at the facility and the promised closed-circuit television system had not yet materialised.

Moreover, said the cooperative, fishermen were forced to lie under their boats when carrying out maintenance, even though this practice went against health and safety standards. However, fishermen had no choice since there was no other hard standing facility where they could carry out maintenance work.

Referring to tuna quotas, the cooperative said it had been told that the government would carry through to next year, the quota of fish that had not been caught this year, since it could be the case that Malta’s quota would be reduced drastically.

However, the cooperative said it later discovered that the systems adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the EU, were different.

What actually happens is that countries which do not take up their whole quota are normally given compensation and those who exceed their quota have a reduced quota the following year, said the cooperative.

The Koperattiva Nazzjonali tas-Sajd Ltd also complained that fishermen were irritated over the fact that they were paid more than a month after they sold all their fish.