It is well known that these islands have a sizeable group of dedicated individuals who practice spearfishing. This website is not at all against such practices, within the limits of the law. Spearfishing in fact, can be practiced in most areas of the Maltese Islands, except in conservation zones few other restricted areas. There are size limits as well for certain species as you may find in our Laws Page.
We noted a picture on a local Facebook Group for fishermen and enthusiasts, proudly displaying a huge catch of Octopus on a kitchen table. NOTE: Picture has been removed from this article as the individual posting the picture got in touch with us and felt that the picture was unfairly resulting in him being targeted.
Whoever posted this photo, who surely appeared to be happy displaying his catch in a very well-attended forum will not be named by this website, and with this article we are not in any manner trying to make fun or accuse the individual of anything, as with lack of information, we might be wrong. However, as the person stated in his post and comments, he caught this nice catch while swimming.
What was noted to be a bit awkward, possibly against the law, was that the same individual may be inclined to sell his catches. As seen in a comment by the same individual on another post in the same group (where he was showing off a large octopus on the same table) he replied in the affirmative to a question whether he has octopus for sale, though for details he asked the enquiring person to contact him via Private Message. It’s not illegal to sell fish and other non-protected species, as long as you have the right licence.
However, such a picture as posted makes us think… how sustainable is it for just one individual (unless the person took credit for multiple individuals), to catch so many octopus? Assuming the individual spent a few hours in the sea, would these have not been captured from a relatively small zone? Could such actions be detrimental to the population of octopus in the zone?
Since spearfishing is uncontrolled, and the number of spearfisherman furthermore is unknown due to the de-licensing of spear guns little more than a decade ago, are there potential hobbyists who do more than simply catching a few fish or other sea food for the family dinner or to share with friends? Does such activity affect the number of marine life around the islands?
May such individuals further be using illegally Scuba Equipment or practice their “hobby” at night – both outlawed by EU regulations? This website’s editor last year witnessed first hand spearfishing at night in a bay in the north and the futile law enforcement response which did not result in apprehending the individual in question, who clearly noticed he was being tracked. HPF Rangers also flagged cases about Scuba Divers having been seen taking octopus at the Cirkewwa Marine Park earlier this year.
We’ve seen as well several adverts over the last months of Octopus for sale on Social Media (mainly Facebook Marketplace) and Classified Adverts online on Maltapark.com. In no case did the individual’s profile nor the phone number seem linked to a professional (and licensed) fishmonger though this might not necessarily mean they sell without a licence.
This summer, this website was also made aware of measures in Sardignia where the catching of octopus was stopped by law for two months, between June and July, at the request of fishermen themselves! The ban was requested in order for octopus to be able to reproduce and be larger at the point of catching them, which also improved the fishermen’s takings. (http://www.itenovas.com/in-sardegna/518-oristanese/oristano/4531-nel-golfo-di-oristano-e-stop-alla-pesca-al-polpo.html).
This website has enquired in the last week with the Environmental Resources Authority (ERA) and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) about the sustainability of such catches and whether some some sort of bag limit was in consideration for spearfishing. ERA referred us to the Superintendent for Public Health (SPF) citing S.L. 36.26 Prohibition of Sale of Sea-Food Regulations, and the DFA. We made contact with the SPH representative, who is to carry out further inquiries internally. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture also responded to our enquiry, forwarding it to the relevant department for further action.
What do YOU think?
- Is there scope for calling for the re-introduction of licensing for spear guns or related equipment?
- From your experience, how respectful are spearfishermen to the marine environment?
- Should there be a bag limit or a limitation in the catching of certain types of marine life in reproductive or juvenile growth seasons?
- Should there be more areas that are protected from all types of fishing?
Let us know through the comments below, by using the contact us page, or comment on this article through our related Facebook Post’s comments.
