Small fishing village of Marsaxlokk (pronounce “Marsachlok“), in the southern part of the island of Malta, late afternoon.
Paul Piscopo is not really the emotional type. He has been a commercial fisherman all his life and, for years, has been at the head of the fishing cooperative catering to the fishermen of the southern part of Malta.
Yet, every time a boat returns to port with her catch of bluefin tuna or swordfish, he is excited as a boy about to be given a new toy. « She will sail in in less than 30 minutes, he says eyes focused on the horizon. I’m happy but I don’t really know what they have managed to catch with the foul weather we’ve had over the last ten days. » Adverse weather conditions which affect all fishermen big or small. As a reminder, between last May and last June, during the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing season in the Mediterranean, tuna seiners which had sailed to the waters of Malta had already complained about weather conditions so bad they could not work. Awful weather which reduced their effective fishing time. Some vessels were even unable to make their quota over the authorized fishing period.
In Marsaxlokk, as September draws to its end, it is no longer bluefin tuna season. It is the end of the swordfish season for about a dozen « big » local fishing boats (12 to 25 meters / 40 to 80 feet). In two days the season for this long-beaked fish will end for two months. After that will come winter storms which will prevent boats to sail out. « Practically, they won’t be able to go out before spring, » explains Paul Piscopo.
The Michel Rosaria finally sails in and docks backwards. Tiredness is visible on the faces of the six sailors who have just spent ten days at sea over 200 kilometers from the shores of Malta. The families are there, happy that there was no accident or no one lost at sea. Often the price to pay for fishermen. Besides, the 21-meter (69 feet) vessel seems to be in her prime. « She was built in 1986 but she is a good seaworthy fishing boat, » explains one of the sailors looking happy to set foot ashore. After a few minutes exchanging affectionate glances and enjoying the reunion with relatives, the well-known fish unloading ritual can start. The sailors go to the holds to unload the fruit of their hard work. The first fishes are not so big. Twenty kilos at best. Then starts the long procession of the larger catches. The biggest one weighs exactly 100 kilos on the scale.
The fish is weighed under the attentive eyes of two inspectors standing on the quay. They carefully fill in official forms with the exact weight of each specimen announced by the owner of the ship. For even if the fishing technique is « traditional » –using long strings of hooks on which whole mackrels are used as bait– every fisherman is tighly monitored and controlled. « For a few years now, not only have vessels over 12 meters (40 feet) been monitored by satellite by the Malta fisheries authority, but for line fishing vessels of this size we have to call two hours prior to arrival so two inspectors can be dispatched, explains Paul Piscopo. Can you imagine what traditinal fishing has become? » In a little less than an hour, the refrigerated truck parked just opposite the fishing boat has been filled with about thirty swordfishes. And finally, the awaited figure is heard: 1400 kilos. The owner and the inspectors write down the total weight on the official documents, he get his calculator and lifts his glasses. « It’s not bad, he explains, but it is not enough. To cover the costs, diesel fuel and baits, they should bring home about 2000 kilos for the same time at sea! »
We are a little surprised. To us, it looks like a very decent. « You don’t understand. Pressure on our 800 local fishermen has grown too strong, » explains a slightly vexed Paul Piscopo. « Everything you see around you will soon vanish. » Coming to see traditional fishermen in Marsaxlokk, we thought we would meet men who sail out not knowing the species or amounts of fish they would catch. Fishermen can come home without having caught anything, that’s a fact. But they can also come to port with holds filled to capacity. And we feel it is good for them. But we are awed to discover that all this imagery is but only a fantasy in the minds of city dwellers.
In fact, restrictions in terms of fishing periods, quantities and control by international organizations such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) increasingly affect small fishermen. Year after year, restriction upon restriction, they are feeling like one is keeping their heads under water. As for Atlantic bluefin Tuna, in addition to the progressive shortening of the fishing season, the ICCAT has decided to impose quotas on all fishermen without exception. As a result, some fishermen of Marsaxxlockk are forced to throw part of their tuna catch back in the water (individuals which will die as they have been hooked) if they don’t want to be fined 5,000 euros per fish over their authorized quota… « Establishing rules for industrial fisheries which apply to us is totally absurd, explains Piscopo. One does not know with a two-pound margin what the sea will give us. And it is not with the amounts of fish we catch that we’re about to empty the sea! To think that the overall quota for our 800 Maltese fishermen is set at 290 metric tons per year. It is barely the quota for a large seiner… We have absolutely nothing against them. We are against the rules established because of them which we have to suffer from ».
The situation is a little different for swordfish. The fishermen have not been imposed quotas but the fishing season has been reduced by two months. Costs have not stopped soaring over the 1990′s and if they are unfortunate enough to fish « too much » swordfish, prices on an essentially Italian market plummet, thus automatically reducing what extra money they could have made. Consequently, Maltese captains no longer hire locals. They resort to Indonesian or Filipino workforce for whom a European salary is enormous. « Ten years ago, we had young « landsmen » who came to fish to buy a house or buy something expensive, recalls Paul Piscopo with a hint of nostalgia. Today, it’s exactly the opposite. They go back to dry land to make a better living. »
It seems that our modern, globalized world based on statistics and figures as well as on increasingly demanding regulations and precise laws does not get along very well with nature which gives and takes at random. That’s what the fishermen think. At least the remaining fishermen.
Julien Pfyffer and Océan 71.
