Looks interesting this article especially the first paragraph
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=89537
Hmmm, does that mean that this applied to recreational fishers as well who were granted a permit? As after all I believe the permit was valid only during the tuna season which has now ended, but I could be wrong there.
Hopefully fisheries can clarify for us.
To be honest on reading the said article my impression was that it is meant for the professionals only.But now I have my doubts if the said permit is linked to the tuna season.
Tuna quotas have been reached by the maltese fishermen. The thing though is that the perse seiners are still out !!!!
This is very bad for the maltese fishermen as many still have not reached their givin quota!
Was told today that tuna caught as a by catch by the pros can still be kept.
Skip, recreational tuna fishing season kicks of on Tuesday, 16 june. The quota reached is that allocated to professionals.
Ah okay, good to know
Guys - Skip, you were right >:( >:( >:( >:(
Just received a call from a Mr. Ray Caruana (Fisheries Protection Officer) from the fisheries division that since the quota allocated to Malta has been reached, they are revoking the licience!!!....What a load of BS!!!!!
I argued with the guy about the quota allocated to recreational fishermen, but he insisted theat the quota has been exceeded.
now we really know that malta is really Pajjiz tal Mixckey Mouse. just received a phone from fisheries that the tuna quota is reached and i have to return my permit to the fisheries. a day before it begins to be valid. the minister pullcino (lohxon) made a imiediatly made a statment on the media that sport fisherman were given a permit for tuna when rumours of needing a licence and new fish regulations. what he has to say now? the real reason that all this happened is because Grupetta and the the president of the koperativa tas sajd Raymond Bugeja made a deal to sell half the quota of malta to foreign pursesuiners. go and speak with full time fisherman. they are some who havent even went to fish once and they told them that the quota id reached. they are very angry they are going to do everything possible so that Gruppetta and Bugeja dont stay anymore in their positiona. VIVA L HBIEB TAL HBIEB
Well gaffer as the maltese says mal hazin jehel it tajjeb :/
I have heard rumours yesterday that the guys of the tuna penns have used up most of the quota and Mr. Raymond Bugejja who is one of the peaple of the koperattiva who is sappost to safeguard his fellow friends who are fisherman has his tuna farms and he is thinking more about how much monay is gonna go into his pockets.
Gaffer its not only guys like you who have received a licence to catch a tuna who are disappointed. All the maltese fishermen are frustrated as they cannot even go out. Inspectors have to be sent on their vessels to see that they remove all the stuff that has to do with tuna fishing.
Pajjiz tal Mickeymouse :(
Well said busu !!!!
Bugejja ma jdumx wisq f dak is siggu ax daqt itajruh !!
Is sajjieda kollha bir rawa f halqom qedin is sibt kolla nizlu ghal laqa li saret marsaxlokk
I just received the phone call too! - Load of BS.......
does anyone know misirter's pullicino number. we phone him and ask to give us an explanation. SKIP if you have time phone him and tell him that you represent a big number of sport fisherman and want an explanation how the 3 tonnes of quota that were allocated to sport fisherman is finished a day before it actually begins.
This is really bad taste for a Monday. But I also suspect that there are second interests from the koperattiva too.
However the quotas allocated to recreational fishing are in the hands of the goverment and these should have nothing to do with the prof quotas so should not have been recalled.
I have spoken to the director of Information, who attentatively listened to what I had to say and said that he'll get back to me, and also written an email to an MEP...I'll give them 24hrs, then as a forum, we officially start asking questions, and we'll contact the press ;)
This is the email I sent to the MEP
Please allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Joseph M Baldacchino, a senior moderator/ member of the the
Malta Fishing Forum (www.maltafishingforum.com), without doubt, Malta's
largest online fishing community with over a 1000 members. Following the
debate on Tuna Quotas, the recreational fishing community in Malta was
allocated a very small quota for recreational BlueFin Tuna fishing, to be
exact 3 tonnes. To put things into perspective, recreational fishermen do
not use long lines or nets to catch tuna, we either use artifical lures
trolled from rods on boats, or dead bait (mackerel) rigged on a hook and
line to rod.
Our licence is offically open form the 16 June, and lasts till 14 October
2009. Each recreational fisherman was allocated a licence to catch 100kgs
of BlueFin Tuna, exclusively for personal use and not to be used for
commercial purposes.
However, I have just been informed via telephone by the fisheries division
that my licence, and that of the other 29 recreational fishermen granted
such a licence has with immediate effect been revoked. The person on the
other line (Mr. Ray Caruana) cited that the tuna quota allocated to Malta
had been reached. However, I beg to differ. The quota allocated to
recreational fishermen who'e licence comes into effect tomorrow has not
even been initiated, never mind exhausted!. So how come our licence is
revoked when the recreational fisherman has not even started to fish for
tuna yet. Unless, of course, the Tuna Quota allocated to Malta was
exceeded and to make up for this shortfall the fisheries Division has
turned onto the recreational fishermen to surrender his quota too. That
is the only logical explaination for this draconian decision. I find this
decision to be in very bad taste.
I strongly protest against this decision, and the reason I write to my MEP
is to seek guidance and possible redress against this .
Kind regards,
Joe
Will keep you posted on developments
Prosit Joe.
Thanks a million Joe! Thanks for the great initiative. In the meantime do you suggest we send in our licences as requested? I think I will be holding on to mine for the time being.
Joe one thing to add which I feel is an important point, is that member states are NOT obliged to include the landings of recreational fishers as part of the country's TAC. They can do it if they want, but I fail to understand why Malta chose to do this given that our TAC is already small.....by all means inform the EU that Malta has various control mechanisms (the licence) and that all recreational catches must be reported to Fisheries who in turn will report to the EU.
Clearly the commercial guys especially the purse seiners have gone over their limit and now the measly 3 tonnes allocated to rec fishing has been swallowed up. If the government want to save face, they should leave the permits that they allocated as is and merely report at the end of the season what the total landings from rec fishers were. They are perfectly entitled to do this and in full EU legal compliance
well done joe i am going to keep mine. whats the point of returning back a piece of useless paper. even if you dont return it you still cant keep tuna so they want me to return the permit so that i consume fuel and the government gets revenue on my fuel also. when we are going to serouis policy makers in this country
A quota for a particular season being used up before the season has even opened?
So is this a case of the fisheries having issued permits, people have prepared their boats, bought tackle etc to fish according to the permit only for the permit to be withdrawn before the season even opened?
I know nothing about this type of fishing but if the situation is how I am reading it, it is totally absurd, ridiculous and a gross insult to recreational fishermen in general.
Apparently the season has been extended!!!
A friend of mine told me this morning that the season has been extended because of all the pressure from professional fishermen. Is this true? What about the recreational permits, have they still been withdrawn?
GAFFER did you get any reply
Craus: That is not true. The only consession extended was to 12 boats which at the time of announcing the season closed, were still out fishing for Tuna and naturally were exempted from getting rid of their catch.
Busumark: Yes, spoke with Dr. Gruppetta. Skip and myself have a followup meeting next week. Please keep in mind that the quota allocated to Malta by ICCAT has been exhasted, so Tuna Fishing season is now closed for all, commercial and recreational. This is a fact that we all have to accept, however bitter it is. Malta is a member of ICCAT, and thus has to abide by the rules. Even since the last meeting in Morocco in October 2008, the rules have changed for recreational catch reports. Whereas before it was on a volountary basis for each member state to report BFT catches by recreational fishermen, since October 2008, it is now mandatory. Malta was allocated a quota of 262 Tons, of which 2 tons were allocated to recreational fishermen. Since the full quota was exceeded in the 1st few days of the open season due to the favourable weather, the authorities had no alternative but to close the BFT fishing season. To put it simply, there is no quota left. Its not a question of our 2 tons subsidising the commercial quota, but just that the full quota as exceeded.
However, Dr. Gruppetta did mention a compromise, and we shall be discussing this during the meeting next week. More on this compromise after our discussions.
In the meantime, I am duty bound to inform all that it is illegal to either fish for, or be caught carrying tackle inside your boat with the explicit purpose of fishing for BFT.
Did u guys return the notice (permit) for tuna quota?
if i had it, i wouldn't if i were you!!! God knows how much money most of us spent on big game tackle, only to hear the season is closed b4 it was opened.
true there is a lot of beurocracy and it is very unfair but you have to point out the fact that tuna is becoming an endangered species
unfortunately. as always, the way things are administered are less than fair and often is subject to bribes, political moves and others.
that is the business world. this was a lesson we learnt during an international marketing module on how to deal with political people, it is not fantasy what i am saying, just the seldom truth, unfortunately. the real culprit of all this is beurocracy, and who create beurocracy??? politicians.. and it is created for money
pathetic to say the least. i am quite curious how mr grupetta is going to justify this action, very CURIOUS. but importantly it will be no one's fault....lol. let me note that someone took your alloted quote and instead that they suffer consequences.... no you will suffer them
Quotetrue there is a lot of beurocracy and it is very unfair but you have to point out the fact that tuna is becoming an endangered species
do you think the one off tuna caught by a recreational fisherman is endangering the fish stocks.... i highly doubt it... i'm speaking in general now... its the full time PURSE SEINERS, not even the long liners but the PURSE SEINERS that are the culprits, the ones that have brought fishing to such a sophisticated and professional level that tuna stands no chance now... its sad, so very sad.
Quote from: robby017 on June 18, 2009, 11:42:51 CET
if i had it, i wouldn't if i were you!!! God knows how much money most of us spent on big game tackle, only to hear the season is closed b4 it was opened.
you still can't use it Robby017...it is void and without value. Season is closed.
yes i know.... frame it :D
robby it is true but in maltese we say
"bil qatra l qatra timtela l garra"
you have to do a stop at some point but still... it is very unfair and whoever this mr grupetta is has to hold himself liable if he is in charge.....
Guys we're all disappointed, like Granitu pointed out stocks are dwindling and potentially there will be a moratorium on Bluefin Tuna Fishing in the Med in the next couple of years....that's the only way to allow fish stocks to recover.
I want to clarify what The Gaffer said concerning if you get caught with equipment to specifically catch tuna - at least how I'm interpreting it.....
Basically if you've got large hooks, rigged on 200-300lbs mono, with bait for use on a rod or with nylon and jerry cans you will be considered to be specifically targeting Tuna.....this will be even more obvious if you're close to any of the Tuna Fish Farms.
On the other hand if you've got large trolling lures then as everyone knows artificial lures are not species specific so you should not have any legal issues there, but if you do catch a BFT you will need to release it and not land it on your boat.
To me if you're out drifting for Swordfish with large hooks, mono and bait, I wouild argue that you're not specifically targeting tuna, again if you catch one you'll need to release it especially if you're nowhere near a fish farm.
Personally I don't think any court will uphold prosecuting you over the equipment issue that has been mentioned unless you are near one of the fish farms, and then as per the MMA safety at sea guidelines you're actually breaking the law....stay outside of the cardinal marks and you're fine in terms of boat placement, but be careful what tackle you're carrying.
What I would like to achieve is permission throughout the year to hook up BFT be it trolling, or drifting near the fishfarms (but outside of the Carindinal Marks) but strictly on a catch and release basis. The excitement and enjoyment for us recreational fishers is in the hook up and the fight.....to see if our equipment and technique was up to the challenge.
Quote from: Granitu on June 18, 2009, 12:14:56 CET
you have to do a stop at some point but still... it is very unfair and whoever this mr grupetta is has to hold himself liable if he is in charge.....
It's Dr. Gruppetta and he's the Head of Fisheries.......a position I don't envy him being in at the moment.
Like it or not guys this is the situation, now let's move forward and find a way to have some kind of compromise like I mentioned above. A permit for catch and release throughout the year.
Quoteyou have to do a stop at some point but still...
so why are the purse seiners still fishing ??????????????????????
why were they granted a further 200 tonnes???????
PS - A full time longline fisherman told me the above, so if its not true, i was mislead too!!!
Skip,
Catch and release might work for some but as for everything the few gready one's will make the rest suffer.
I am seeing the bird hunting paradigm even more .
What do you think?
many tell alot, but many of these are multinational companies. from an econimical point of view, this represents income to the government, but still, it would be better off if caught by the maltese... but why it is not????
mmmm....... bribes.... who knows so simple my friend
let me note you that the one in charge of tuna quote owns a lot of tuna fish farms in malta.... 1+1=3
catch and release with a 100kg example is is difficult i think mellieha.... and prob there will be still some who will fish tuna
Quote from: robby017 on June 18, 2009, 12:24:03 CET
Quoteyou have to do a stop at some point but still...
so why are the purse seiners still fishing ??????????????????????
why were they granted a further 200 tonnes???????
PS - A full time longline fisherman told me the above, so if its not true, i was mislead too!!!
I've already answered this in a previous post:
Craus: That is not true. The only consession extended was to 12 boats which at the time of announcing the season closed, were still out fishing for Tuna and naturally were exempted from getting rid of their catch.
During my discussion with Dr. Gruppetta, I mentioned the idea of catch and release. Dr. Gruppetta was very receptive to this suggestion, and is ready to discuss a programme with the MFF on these lines. This would be an official programme, recognised by the authorities, whereby recreational fishermen would be licenced to prctice BFT fishing on a catch and release basis. We would obviously be obliged to report back with data about catches, size and weight, and this data will be presented at international fora. It is for this reason that Skip and myself will be meeting Dr. Gruppetta in the coming days to discuss this initiative, whereby we still get to fish for and experience the thrill of hooking up a BFT, only this time, after collecting the relevant data, we release. To me this is a very reasonable compromise, and shows an element of trust from the authorities to the recreational fisermen, and mutual respect that we do practice what we preach!!!...catch and release.
Granitu - the tuna quota is decided by the ICCAT, and not decided by the maltese authorities. What you probably meant is that the gguy who records the Maltese commercial catch, and not in charge of the quota per se.
but i heard some grumbles about him from tuna fisherman, fisherman that repaid faith in his management
i believe in control AND IT HAS TO BE! but not the way it is managed gaffer. and i take nothing fore-granted ESPECIALLY WITH BRIBES, it can be of any form
and anyone could be taking bribes, could come from anywhere including ICCAT. Just see the treatment they reserve to recreational fisherman, as if we are second class.... it is pathetic when one considers the fact that a recreational fisherman generates more wealth(all buy tackle, line, fuel, hooks, rods and accessories which professional ones do not use and not necessarily catch) than a professional one, even economically it is better
they fail to understand that the future of fishing stands in sport fishing not in professional fishing, the sea is showing that it can't witshand professional fishing... quotas and catch and release is the future.... just like the united states, the professioanl fishing industry is becoming more difficult to operate than ever as opposed to sport fishing charters
it has been statistically approved in england and accepted by the government, but not as yet in malta....and i keep asking why other countries are able to figure it out and our politicians can't?? :-\ :-\ :-\
ok, catch and release..... altough its dificult with a tuna, i can live with it... and i appreciate the effort nic and joe... but... say i am willing to release a 100-150 kg tuna i caught whilst trolling... how do you control such a powerful fish to take out the hook, when, you can't even gaff it as you will injure it more and reduce its chance of survival.... ma nafx, just in case i finally do come face to face with a tuna whilst fishing recreationally.
:)
You cut the line Robby.......modern hooks are designed to dissolve when left immersed in Salt Water.
Try and bring the fish near the boat, reach down and slide your lure up the line and then snip!
As the golden rule is to keep the line tight to avoid losing the fish, once you've taken your picture, give the line some slack, the fish will sometimes break itself free.
I've also seen online that the skipper speeds up the boat a bit which helps keep the fish up on the surface near the boat......I haven't done this myself so I'm not 100% sure
Perhaps someone like Twoutes can offer more insight.
nic, its no joke.... i have had a hand on experience of a +200kg BFT caught on a longline with a pro in June 2008... its a mighty fish and prep yourself for a good fight.... it took us 2 hours to bring a mighty still full of energy tuna on board and i'm glad to say i held onto the line most of the time.... its no joke bringing this much sought after tuna up to the boat to release them as they'll fight till the end... (Suicidle at times as its not the first time they head for the rotating props)
Remember Dennis Braid's tuna nic ;) they had to gaff and spear the fish as it would not give in... and that was only a 175-200kg fish, as i told you, i know of catches of over 400 and 500kg even tough they don't happen every day, we'll dream of our day ::)
i guess we'll be needing tutorials....
A good reminder Robby017, that denis braid vidoe, if I'm not mistaken, he managed to land the Tuna in under 20minutes, and it was completely exhausted!. Fighting tuna with a rod and good reel is so much different from longlines. The fish is made to fight all the way, and it has the drag to contend with, whilst also the forward movement of the boat. You just come with me on my 1st BFT catch and release trip...and you'll see what its all about!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quoteand it was completely exhausted!
.
No it wasn't, he speared it in the head, that's when it stopped fighting and came up to the surface exhausted.
BUT
ok for the invite, when do we go... i'll cook the pasta ;) meta trid immorru... just one little note, 90-95% of recreational fishermen do not afford the tackle used in that video, but, moving along, i'll gladly join you joe!
maybe what robby was trying to say is that half the quota of malta was sold to foreign pursieners with the blessing of two peolple in high position
It would be interesting to know who registered the catches that made up the quota.
Regarding the catch and release isue on BFT, how does the tuna act once totaly exhausted to being released. I have heard many explain that after such a fight, the strain on the heart makes it stop!
Although I dont go trolling for Tuna, I believe that there must be an agrement that the professional quotas and recreational quotas be separated so that if one is exceeded it does not effect the other. Sports fishing can hardly reach the quota established after all.
Catch and release is also welcome especially if this is for all year round but being able to land at least 1 beast in a season would be enough to get the fuel burnt back.
Its very hard to catch a tuna that is over 30 kilos nowadays, the big ones are all caught by purse saining because they move in shoals (big tunas)
and are all caught in one swoop !
if your tackle is right lapsi, you'll get the strike... i had the right lures twice, and twice got snapped off by the possible BFT whilst trolling for albacore.
Robby I know you like handlines but you should really look at getting a rod/reel and let the drag work for you.....guarantee you will lose less fish...if you've got hot lures and are going to the good spots it seems a shame to be losing them. On your hand you simply can't simulate quick enough the effect of a drag on a reel
Hopefully i'll be trying that next Saturday if we go, i'll let out a normal handline and one on the rod, i've gone light, hopefully not to light, my rod is a 15-20lb mitchell trolling rod with an Okuma multiplier ,the SD Okuma 45L, with braided spectra 0.44mm with a breaking strain of circa 70kg if i'm not mistaken. what do you think nic ?
You'll run out of drag pressure on that reel long before you have to worry about breaking your line :) The SD 45L probably can put out around 15lbs of max drag at best so what you lose in drag pressure you are gaining in line capacity by using braid.
For alungi it sounds great, for a 20-30kgs tuna you'll have the time of your life, just go easy with the drag pressure not to break that rod but I hear they're pretty tough. Just make sure you run a 50-75 yards of mono top shot on that braid so you have some shock absorbption.....30-40lbs mono
can we speak meters and dia for the mono plz ?
Around 70 meters, and I don't like to talk mm dia for mono because there is no official standard....each manufacturer works to different strengths for the same diameter. I know it's what people like to use here but it's very misleading.
0.70mm from Manufacturer A might break at 50lbs but from B at 60lbs.
But basically 30-40lbs is roughly 0.52-0.60mm
I have a mono, 0.70mm breaking point of 32kg... what do you think ? to thick? i was going for a 3-4m flouocarbon 0.66mm leader and then a good swievel and then attach the braid immeadiately.... guess thats not the best approach.
Your tackle is good, I'm concerned about your rod and reel. If you're out for tuna, you can be hit by anything from 30kgs to 100+ kgs. That drag on the okuma would just melt away. I have a shimano tiagra 30W with a shimano beqstmaster full roller 5
50/80lbs and am still a bit concerned what will happen ir I hit into a 120kg+ BFT.
u will probably run out of line nick................
no, no, i'm targetting albacore with that set up, should a monster come, i'll turn old school and use jerrycan's and try bring it up on hand....
Quote from: shanook on June 19, 2009, 10:46:35 CET
u will probably run out of line nick................
On a 20-30kgs Tuna with 15-16lbs of drag I don't think Robby would have an issue. That reel is probably packed with a serious amount of braid 600 yards+ so as Joe said its really the rod one has to be careful with.
The 70m is just the top shot on the braid.......join with an Albright Knot or uni to uni .
In the 5 years that I've been out trolling, the last 4 with expensive rods/reels set up for tuna it's all been a total waste of time, so don't bother going OTT with big ass rods/reels around Malta it's pointless. It's illegal and I repeat illegal to fish in close proximity to the fish farms for Tuna....so something like a good 30W (Penn 30VW, Tiagra 30W etc) is MORE than enough.......especially if you choose to back it with 100lbs braid just in case.
When trolling you'll find it very hard to raise those big tuna from down deep, trust me I've tried many times even with spreader bars, daisy chains etc etc. It's true I've not been out 2-3 times per week in those years but we even went out to 'good spots' 60nm offshore for nothing.
I'm will to 'bet' that you won't catch anything above 40kgs whilst trolling........if you're chumming and then drifting even if not at the fish farm that's a different story but then you'd need to be set up differently.
Joe for trolling in my humble opinion you have absolutely nothing to be worried about...I say bring on the monster! You're more likely to lose it from your terminal tackle (snap swivel or lure) than from the main line.
So for Alungi Robby I would say no issues....you could use that mono if you wanted to like that you'd only be sacrificing your fluoro if you break your line. Personally I rig my lures with fluoro, and then just crimp a snap swivel on the end of the mono which connects to a crimped eye on the lure.
QuoteThat reel is probably packed with a serious amount of braid 600 yards+
circa 350 meters if i'm not mistaken...
Hmm you are a bit short for Tuna, ideally you should be 600 yards min especially if you get a real brute or one that is full of energy.
You're fine to Alungi.....always of course just my opinion
if a tuna comes along, merhba bih.... but as you said, chances are few and far between...
Have you ever heard of catches of Bft over 50 kilos caught by trolling offshore?
I only heard of the ones caught near fishdarms but its much more challenging out in the open !