Once again your columnist chooses to ignore all the data we have provided in so many answers and picks and chooses tables produced by others out of context of the whole picture of the figures provided by us.
We have not produced the tables published and we have no report compiled by EU Inspectors stating that the 210 tons of fish caught by the Moroccan purse-seiner “Le Marsouin” were never in Maltese cages. This is another article along with the whole series published throughout this summer that opts for splashing of bits and pieces of data from different sources and ignores the open invitation of my Division to come and follow all our declarations through the huge amount of paper work involved in the controls of each of these consignments.
If anybody chose not to list the Moroccan fish or forgot to list it, it definitely is not Malta’s fault and it definitely is not because we did not inform the EU Commission about it. I have stated repeatedly and continue to stress that all EU inspectors, CFCA inspectors and other MS inspectors that have called at our offices have indeed photocopied all the caging declarations and marketing declarations including harvest notes of the relative observers and any other document that they fancied. This invitation was also made to your paper but you chose not to make use of this offer to trace back all consignments to their origin.
By the way we also hold the Moroccan Fisheries Competent Authority approval of that transfer of live fish to a Maltese Farm in 2007. We definitely do not have any reason whatsoever to forget or hide 210 tons of legally caught and approved tuna that needs formal certification to be marketed. I am sure that there is an explanation for the tables 6 and 7 published but the reason for them carrying different sets of quantities is definitely not our fault and definitely not in our interest. We have given the public through your paper all the data that we claim officially and we will continue to do so. We can assure you that those tables will be modified to read the quantities we have reported through the submission of approved cage declarations.
In the table published it is not only the Moroccan fish that was not included but also some French catches that have been recorded as Libyan. We have been very consistant in our claims throughout and this is due to the fact that we base all our answers on the documents that we hold as the official declarations placed by the various captains of catching vessels, observers, caging declarations placed by the farm operators, once again verified by observers and harvest certificates also verified through observer reports.
Table 6 produced in your article also carries mistakes as the total tuna in Maltese farms for the 2008 season was 4,253 tons of which 1346.689 tons were the actual carry over.
The documents are all available for viewing and shall form the basis for any submissions that may be necessary for the ICCAT Commission and the European Commission at any time in the past, now, at Marrakech or at any time in the future as these are the official documents that have to be used to cross control any tuna in Maltese farms in the 2008 season.

Dr Anthony Gruppetta
Director General
Veterinary Regulation,
Fisheries Conservation & Control

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