Updated:Protest against the Minister’s balancing act: Fishing in conservation areas vs Diver Safety vs livelihood of fishermen

As of Saturday 9 March 2024, 90 protest emails were sent – join them – read the below!

Edit: a previous verison of this post had the Minister’s answer to the second question pasted incorrectly.

Most divers were baffled with the unbelievable U-turn on fishing in conservation zones around wrecks which we reported on last December.

After that announcement, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights was asked twice in parliament by the Hon. Ivan Bartolo whether he could justify the continued fishing in conservation areas around wrecks as per the Transport Malta Notice to Mariners 215 of 2023, when this could endanger divers’ lives, as well as defeating the concept of conservation areas in the first place.

On the 27 February 2024 (it took a bit of time to reply.. probably the Minister was checking the studies!), Hon. Refalo replied to the first Parliamentary question, stating that:

I inform the Hon. Questioner that after all the facts have been considered, the fishing conditions as set out in the Notice to Mariners are balanced for the parties concerned. In addition, I draw attention to the fact that in the Notice it is clearly stated that all vessels except those mentioned, must stay away from Conservation areas , for safety’s sake, and keep a safe distance and approach at a safe speed at all times. Regarding the last question, checks are carried out on the fishing equipment on board and one determines whether the conditions of the Notice to Mariners have been breached or not.

Parliamentary Question 14073

On the 28 February, Hon. Refalo stated also in reply to another question asking whether the sites were too small to justify allowing fishing, replied as follows:

I inform the Hon. Questioner that the co-ordinates that were given in the Notice to the Mariners, were decided in a balance between the sustainability of the mentioned sites, including the potential of artificial reefs, the livelihood of the professional fishermen and the their families, as well as the hobby of marine enthusiasts

Parliamentary Question 14143

Now one needs a very warped and vivid imagination to consider in any way that the conservation areas around wrecks might in some manner disturb fishing in a manner that may unbalance the rights of fishermen, or in any manner affect their livelihood. We took a snippet from the Malta Ranger Unit’s map of environmentally protected sites which shows to scale the location & extent of these conservation areas, and we can barely see them having any effect on the size of fishing areas (practically, all the rest in dark blue).

Furthermore, in view of this week having been a watershed moment with the publication of the public inquiry into the failings which may have led to the tragedy of last year that resulted in the death of Jean Paul Sofia, the timing of the minister’s second response could not have been worse! Allowing fishing (trolling) in these zones is an unnecessary risk to SCUBA divers and freedivers frequenting these zones with cannot be justified with the petty excuse of in any way possibly limiting fishermen’s livelihoods.

Well, in view that the Minister may have been misguided, or is too keen on keeping his seat at the expense of our lives, we are suggesting that you nudge him to show your disagreement with this policy of allowing trolling (sajd bir-rixa) in the conservation zones around wrecks.

To make it easy, we are also including a short form below, which whenever you fill & hit send, sends the message to the dear Minister’s public email address from the parliament’s website. Email is sent from our system, so your email or IP are not picked up.

We will also copy the Minister in charge of Transport Malta, as this is the entity which publishes the Notice to Mariners. It is also convenient for one to shift blame on the other, when in reality each year Transport Malta publishes notices for the usual swimming zones to be respected, so it’s not understandable why diving sites can’t be provided the same protection year-round as well, needing no blessing from others.

Send an Email to the Minister

This form has been created to allow you to show your disapproval to the Minister for Fishing, Aquaculture and Animal Rights of his responses to Hon. Ivan Bartolo’s questions about the allowing of fishing (trolling) in conservation zones around wrecks, as reported at https://www.divinginfo.mt/?p=5764 The Minister stated in response to parliamentary questions 14073 and 14143 that allowing fishing (trolling) in these zones is a balanced approach and balances the sustainability between the potential of these reefs, the livelihood of professional fishermen and their families and the hobbies of marine users. We think it’s a danger to divers and that it is against the basic principle of a conservation zone, especially when considering that combined together, these are just a miniscule area. Banning the fishing in these zones will by no stretch of imagination risk the livelihood of fishermen or their families. However, the lives of divers (especially freedivers) may clearly be at risk! If you disagree with the Minister, and wish to show your disapproval, tick any or all of the boxes below and this form will be sent to the minister’s email. We also copy the Minister responsible for Transport Malta as he as well could push the authority to declare these zones as swimming zones, like for so many other sites in summer.

Tick the points you would like to tell the Minister for Fishing, Aquaculture and Animal Rights (copied to Minister for Transport)

• I disagree with fishing in conservation areas around wrecks
• By allowing fishing you are risking the lives of divers using these zones

Are you a Maltese resident (optional)

• Yes
• No
• No but a frequent visitor

Add a personal message if you want – be polite! (optional)

Sign it if you wish (optional)

Data protection *

• I consent to having this website store my submitted information so they can track the number of disapprovals sent to the Minister

Send to the ministers by clicking here

You may directly see the questions and responses (in Maltese) on the parliamentary website at

Question 1: https://pq.gov.mt/PQWeb.nsf/7561f7daddf0609ac1257d1800311f18/c1257d2e0046dfa1c1258ad0004207a9!OpenDocument

Question 2: https://pq.gov.mt/PQWeb.nsf/7561f7daddf0609ac1257d1800311f18/c1257d2e0046dfa1c1258ad1002a3362!OpenDocument

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