Bluefin Tuna Aquaculture Regulations, 2022

L.N. 218 of 2022

FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT

(CAP. 425)

Bluefin Tuna Aquaculture Regulations, 2022

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 38 of the

Fisheries Conservation and Management Act, the Minister responsible

for fisheries has made the following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Bluefin Tuna

Aquaculture Regulations, 2022.

commencement.

(2) The scope of these regulations is to regulate bluefin tuna

aquaculture activities, as well as those fisheries and commercialization

activities related thereto as provided in these regulations, and to

promote the sustainable operation of the bluefin tuna aquaculture

industry with respect to the sustainability of the bluefin tuna fisheries,

in compliance with European Union law and other binding

international law obligations.

(3) Save as otherwise provided, the Director shall be

responsible for all the purposes of these regulations.

(4) These regulations shall come into force on such date as the

Minister responsible for fisheries may, by notice in the Gazette,

establish, and different dates may be so established for different

provisions and different purposes of the regulations.

(1)

In these regulations, unless the context requires

otherwise

"Act" means the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act;

"aquaculture" means the rearing and cultivation of fish by virtue

of the use of technical means set up in order to increase the

production of the organisms concerned beyond their natural

environmental capacity, where the organisms remain property of the

natural or legal person operating the aquaculture establishment

throughout the period of rearing and cultivation, up to and including

the harvesting thereof;

"auxiliary vessel" means any vessel used to transport

unprocessed dead bluefin tuna from any sort of cage, or from a purse

seine vessel or a trap to a designated port and, or to a processing

vessel;

"average eBCD caging weight" means total weight divided by the

total number of individual BFT in a particular cage as recorded in the

caging section within individual eBCDs;

"average harvest weight" means the total live weight of the fish

harvested per cage divided by the total number of individual BFT as

recorded during the harvesting process;

"BCD" or "electronic BCD (eBCD)" means a bluefin catch

document in a form as required and, or approved by the Director;

"caging" means the relocation of live bluefin tuna from the

transport cage or trap to the aquaculture cages;

"catching vessel" means a fishing vessel used for the purposes of

the commercial capture of bluefin tuna resources;

"control camera" means a stereoscopical camera and, or

conventional video camera for the purpose of the controls prescribed

by these regulations;

"control transfer" means any additional transfer being

implemented at the request of an operator or upon on order by the

Director, for the purpose of verifying the number of bluefin tuna in a

towing or aquaculture cage;

"donor operator" means the master of the catching or the towing

vessel or its representative, or the representative of an aquaculture

establishment or a trap, from which a transfer operation is originated;

"fattening" or "farming" means caging of bluefin tuna in

aquaculture establishments and subsequent feeding aiming to fatten

and increase their total biomass;

"fishing vessel" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in

the Act, and without prejudice thereto it shall also include any

powered vessel used for the purposes of the commercial exploitation

of bluefin tuna resources, including catching vessels, fish processing

vessels, support vessels, towing vessels, vessels engaged in

transhipment and transport vessels equipped for the transportation of

tuna products and auxiliary vessels, except container vessels;

"further transfer" means any transfer operation that is conducted

after the first transfer from a catching vessel’s net or a trap and before

caging at the destination aquaculture establishment;

"harvesting" means the killing of bluefin tuna in aquaculture

establishment or traps;

"HRV" means the Harvest Raised Value as calculated according

to regulation 18;

"ICCAT" means the International

Commission

for

the

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas;

"ICCAT Recommendation 19-04" means the Recommendation

by ICCAT amending the Recommendation 18-02 establishing a multi-

annual management plan for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and

the Mediterranean;

"ICCAT SCRS" means the Standing Committee on Research and

Statistics of ICCAT;

"international law" includes international law as generally

understood and any recommendations, resolutions or decisions by

RFMOs as in force from time to time and binding on the European

Union and, or Malta or operators under its jurisdiction;

"ITD" means ICCAT Transfer Declaration, and is the relevant

transfer declaration as required by ICCAT for the relevant activities;

"processing vessel" means a vessel on board of which fisheries

products are subject to one or more of the following operations, prior

to their packaging: filleting or slicing, freezing and, or processing;

"purse seine" means a surrounding net the bottom of which is

drawn together by means of a purse line at the bottom of the net, which

passes through a series of rings along the ground rope, enabling the net

to be pursed and closed;

"purse seiner" means a fishing vessel making use of a purse

seine;

"RFMO" means a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation

recognised by the European Union or at international law, and also

includes international organisations having an interest in fisheries and,

or aquaculture, including but not limited to the General Fisheries

Commission for the Mediterranean, or GFCM, and the International

Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or ICCAT, as well

as any other such organisation as the Minister may prescribe by notice

in the Gazette;

"Random controls" means those controls carried out on

aquaculture establishments according to regulation 20;

"stereoscopical camera" means a camera with two or more

lenses, with a separate image sensor or film frame for each lens,

enabling the taking of three-dimensional images for the purpose of

measuring the length of the fish and assisting in attaining greater

precision in the number and weight of bluefin tuna;

"transfer operations" includes any transfer of live bluefin tuna

from the catching vessel's net to the transport cage; any transfer of live

bluefin tuna from the trap to the transport cage, independently of the

presence of a towing vessel; any transfer of live bluefin tuna from the

transport cage to another transport cage; any transfer of a cage

containing live bluefin tuna from a towing vessel to another towing

vessel; any transfer of live bluefin tuna from one aquaculture

establishment to another, or between different cages in the same

aquaculture establishment and any transfer of live bluefin tuna from a

farming cage to a transport cage;

"towing vessel" means any authorised vessel used for towing

cages with or without bluefin tuna;

"transhipment" means the unloading of all or any of the fish on

board a fishing vessel to another fishing vessel. However, unloading of

dead bluefin tuna from the purse seiner net, the trap or the towing

vessel to an auxiliary vessel shall not be considered as transhipment;

"trap" means fixed gear anchored to the bottom, usually

containing a guide net that leads bluefin tuna into an enclosure or

series of enclosures where it is kept prior to harvesting or farming;

"tuna", "bluefin tuna" or "BFT" means specimens of the fish

species known by the scientific name of Thunnus thynnus.

(2) Save as otherwise provided in this regulation, the

definitions of the Act shall apply to these regulations.

(1) Without prejudice to any other function, Functions of the

responsibility and power under the Act or any other law, as well as any Director.

other function provided in these regulations, the functions of the

Director shall in particular include those listed under sub-regulations

(2) to (5).

(2)

The Director shall

(a) ensure that all communications required by Malta

under European Union law or international law in relation to the

BFT aquaculture sector are communicated;

(b)

order the release of live BFT from an aquaculture

establishment upon receiving a request from a foreign competent

authority which is declared to be final and definitive, or is

according to applicable European Union law or international

law;

(c) engage national observers to act as required

according to European Union law and, or international law, as

well as according to any other requirements as the Director may

deem fit to impose in relation to such engagements, and ensure

that operators do all that may be reasonable to ensure that

national observers are allowed to fulfil their role;

(d) ensure that operators do all that may be reasonable to

ensure that regional observers fulfil their role according to

European Union law, and or international law, and for so doing

he may issue such orders towards operators as the Director may

deem fit;

(e) prescribe such declarations, forms and additional

procedures as he may deem necessary or expedient to comply

with obligations according to these regulations, and particularly

so when these are required by international law and, or RFMOs;

(f) order and execute the transfer of any live BFT from

any aquaculture establishment and, or cage to another cage for

control and monitoring purposes and according to such

conditions that he may so order;

(g) take action, as necessary or expedient, towards the

fulfilment of all the provisions of these regulations and for so

doing he may, without prejudice to the generality of the

foregoing and any other power or responsibility according to

law

(i) require the provision of any information,

document, object or copy thereof from any person and, or

operator as he may deem relevant or expedient to fulfil the

provisions of these regulations;

(ii) order the temporary cessation of any activity

regulated by these regulations or having an effect thereon;

(iii) suspend or revoke any authorisation issued

according to these regulations;

(iv) seize, store and, or destroy any fish, implement,

gear or other object as he may order and in doing so he may

charge the expenses against the operator concerned;

(v) exercise all powers as are vested in him

according to the Act mutatis mutandis for the purposes of

these regulations.

(3) Without prejudice to any other function, responsibility and

power under the Act or any other law, the Director is hereby

empowered to act towards the fulfilment of any obligation,

commitment or objective binding on Malta and, or on operators under

Maltese jurisdiction, as applicable according to European Union law

and, or international law, in relation to the bluefin tuna aquaculture

sector

Provided that, without prejudice to the generality of this

sub-regulation, the Director shall be competent for the aforesaid

fulfilment and any specific power to be exercised by Malta or which

could be exercised at Malta's discretion shall be deemed to vest in the

Director without the need of any further ratification or enactment.

(4) Without prejudice to sub-regulation (3), the Director may

publish a list of particular applicable instruments under European

Union law and, or international law by means of a Government

notification, exclusively so as to draw the particular attention of

operators on certain applicable obligations according to the same

instruments

Provided that, without prejudice to sub-regulation (3) and

any other law, publication as referred in this sub-regulation shall lead

to a juris et de jure presumption that the legal instruments listed are

enforceable in Malta by the Director.

(5)

The Director may also

(a) communicate information related to the BFT

aquaculture sector to European Union or international bodies

when the Director deems it fit in the interest of the same sector,

or in the interest of the sustainability, control, enforcement or

management thereof

(b) impose specific requirements on the roles of national

observers which are to be observed by the same observers and, or

operators accordingly

(c) delegate the exercise of any of his responsibilities

and, or powers according to these regulations to such persons as

he may designate and according to such conditions as he may

deem fit

(d) without prejudice to any other law and when not

specifically provided for under these regulations, order the

release of any number of live BFT as may be held by any

operator, when such release is necessary or adequate to fulfil any

obligation under these regulations and particularly so with

respect to obligations referred to under sub-regulation (3).

(6) Anything done by the Director or his delegates according to

this regulation, save if it was expressly indicated otherwise, shall be

binding at law upon all operators concerned.

Without prejudice to any other provision of these

regulations or any other law, the following shall be prohibited

(a) any aquaculture activity involving BFT caught,

transhipped or towed by vessels and, or operators who are not

licensed and, or authorised according to applicable law,

including but not limited to aquaculture activity involving

(i) any chartering of vessels in relation to BFT

fisheries or the involvement of chartered vessels in BFT

fisheries;

(ii) any fishing by purse seine between the 2nd July

of each year and the 25th May of the following year

Provided that if weather conditions prevented fishing

operations, the Director may derogate from this prohibition for a

period of not more than ten (10) days starting from the 2nd July and

ending on the 11th July at the latest

Provided further that the referred derogation shall only be

possible following a lack of objection from the European Commission.

(b) any aquaculture activities, including feeding for

fattening purposes or the harvesting of bluefin tuna, outside of

the geographical coordinates approved by the Director for the

aquaculture establishment;

(c) any obstruction, intimidation, interference with,

influence of, bribing of or attempt to bribe a national observer or

a regional observer;

(d)

any violation of the provisions of regulation 5;

(e)

any aquaculture activity, or any activity related

thereto, done in violation of international law as defined

according to regulation 2;

(f) without prejudice to any instructions given according

to regulation 14(2), any transhipment of BFT when done outside

ports designated for such purposes by the Director.

(1) Operators shall be obliged to accept on board their Observers and

vessels and, or into their establishments those national and, or regional fisheries

protection

observers as the Director may require according to regulation 3, and officers.

said acceptance shall include reasonable collaboration by the operators

to allow and facilitate the fulfilment of the roles of said observers

Provided that this sub-regulation shall mutatis mutandis

apply in relation to operators for any obligation directly affecting

them, Malta and, or the European Union as applicable to the role of

observers according to European Union law or international law as

defined under regulation 2

Provided further that the presence of ICCAT regional

observers shall in particular be required on every purse seine vessel

authorised to fish for bluefin tuna, during all transfers of bluefin tuna

from purse seine vessels to transport cages, during all transfers of

bluefin tuna from one aquaculture establishment to another, during all

cagings of bluefin tuna in an aquaculture establishment, during all

harvesting of bluefin tuna from aquaculture establishment, and during

the release of bluefin tuna from an aquaculture establishment, or as

otherwise required under European Union law or international law.

(2) The provisions of sub-regulation (1) shall apply to

aquaculture establishments and to vessels the activities of which relate

to BFT intended or related to the aquaculture activities of aquaculture

establishments and no relevant activity may be performed failing

compliance with the provisions of sub-regulation (1).

(3) Without prejudice to their other responsibilities and powers

at law, fisheries protection offices may inspect aquaculture

establishments to ensure compliance with these regulations and

international law as defined according to regulation 2.

(1)

Any transhipment of BFT must

Transhipment.

(a) take place at a port designated for such a purposes by

the Director, and subject to a specific authorisation for each

transhipment;

(b) be subject to a seventy-two (72) hour prior notice by

a representative of the vessel concerned;

(c) be subject to the provision of any documents and

information required by the Director, in particular documents

and information required according to international law and

European Union law.

(2) The Director shall not authorise any transhipment unless

the competent authority of the flag of the vessel provides its own

authorisation for the transhipment.

(3) The Director may issue a transhipment authorisation

according to this regulation if he is satisfied that the provisions of sub-

regulations (1) and (2) have been met by the concerned operators.

(1)

The master of a towing vessel shall ensure the towing

vessel is

(a) equipped with a fully operational VMS at all times

during its activity as a towing vessel;

(b) capable of transmitting VMS data to the ICCAT

Secretariat at least five (5) days before and continue at least 5

days after its period of operation, as may be authorised by the

Director or the competent authority of a foreign State;

(c) transmitting VMS data without interruption when the

vessel is in port, unless there is a system of hailing in and out of

port;

(d) in the event of a technical failure of its VMS,

equipped with a fully functional VMS at the earliest, except in

cases of force majeure as communicated to the Director and the

ICCAT Secretariat

Provided that upon such failure and every four (4)

hours, the master or his representative shall communicate to the

Director the up-to-date geographical coordinates of the towing

vessel by appropriate telecommunication means; and

(e) at a minimum distance of 0.5 nautical miles, or at

such other distance as may be ordered by the Director, from an

aquaculture establishment when carrying a transport cage and

until fisheries protection officers are present on site.

(2) Any transfer of bluefin tuna in cages shall be subject to a

prior notification sent to the Director, including, as applicable

(a) the number and the estimated weight of bluefin tuna

to be transferred;

(b) the name of the relevant catching vessel, towing

vessel, aquaculture establishment or trap, and their respective

ICCAT number record;

(c)

the date and the location of the catch;

(d) the estimated position indicating latitude and

longitude where the transfer will take place;

(e) the donor and, or receiving aquaculture establishment

and the relevant aquaculture cages; and

(f)

any other information as requested by the Director.

(3) Any person responsible for transfer operations and

associated transports shall ensure that at all times any cages used for

such activities are numbered, in a visible and legible manner, in

accordance with a unique numbering system that includes the letters

EU.MLT, followed by three numbers, and a code established by the

Director for the particular operator, as may be required by the Director

Provided that if the relevant operator is not registered in

Malta, the applicable letters shall be those identified by the foreign

competent authority.

(4) Each transfer operation shall require a transfer

authorisation as may be issued by the Director or by a foreign

competent authority, as applicable

Provided that a transfer authorisation shall not be issued if

the transfer operation is not conducted according to these regulations.

(5) The transfer authorisations referred in sub-regulation (4)

shall be numbered with MLT, followed by four numbers for the year

and three letters to indicate either positive (AUT) or negative (NEG)

authorisation, followed by the applicable sequential numbers

Provided that if the relevant transfer does not fall within the

competence of Malta, the applicable letters shall be those identified

according to the foreign competent authority.

(6) The separation of the transport cage from a purse seine or a

trap shall not occur before the transport operation concerned is

completed according to sub-regulation (7) and, if applicable, the

ICCAT regional observer has completed his tasks.

(7)

A transfer operation shall be considered completed when

(a) the ITD and the relevant video record are transmitted

to the master of the receiving towing vessel and to the ICCAT

regional observer or the national observer, as applicable;

(b) a copy of the ITD has been sent to the Director or the

competent authority of the donor operator, as applicable; and

(c) the transfer section of the eBCD, when applicable,

has been completed by the donor operator.

(1) Donor operators shall ensure that transfer operations

are at all times monitored and recorded by conventional video camera

in the water, according to such minimum standards and procedures as

the Director may order.

(2) In any case following the first transfer from a purse seiner

to a towing cage, the donor operator shall deliver copies of the

conventional video camera recordings referred in sub-regulation (1)

without delay

(a) at the end of any first transfer operation from the

catching vessel or trap, to the ICCAT regional observer of the

catching vessel and the national observer of the receiving towing

vessel and, on termination of the fishing trip, to the Director or

the competent authority of the flag State of the donor towing

vessel or trap, and to the competent authorities of the farming

flag;

(b) at the end of any subsequent transfer operation

between towing vessels, to the national observer on board the

donor towing vessel, and to the master of the receiving towing

vessel and, at the end of the towing trip, to the Director or to the

competent authority of the flag State of the donor towing vessel

and to the competent authorities of the farming flag;

(c) at the end of any subsequent transfer operation

between two different aquaculture establishments, to the ICCAT

regional observer, to the receiving towing vessel, and to the

Director or to the competent authority of the state of registration

of the receiving aquaculture establishment.

(3) Copies of video recordings according to sub-regulation (1)

shall be kept on board the vessel or trap for the duration of the BFT

fishing season.

(4) Whenever an operator is registered in Malta, the Director

shall retain a copy of video recordings recorded according to this

regulation for at least three (3) years

Provided that the retention period may be longer if the data

concerned is necessary for control and enforcement purposes as may

be deemed necessary by the Director or any other competent authority.

(1) Video recordings according to regulation 8 shall serve Action on video

recordings (in

so as to determine the number of fish being transferred

transfers at sea).

Provided that this regulation shall not apply to transfers of

cages from a towing vessel to another towing vessel unless specifically

ordered by the Director

Provided further that if the Director deems that the quality

and clarity of the video recordings referred in regulation 8 are not

sufficient to determine the number of fish being transferred, the donor

operator may conduct a voluntary transfer of as much fish as necessary

so as to allow for said determination.

(2) If no voluntary transfer has been effected according to sub-

regulation (1) or if the Director deems that the same voluntary transfer

is not sufficient to allow for the determination of the number of fish

being transferred, the Director shall order that a control transfer be

made

Provided that this sub-regulation is subject to the

provisions of sub-regulation (4).

(3) Transfers according to this regulation shall always be

recorded by control camera in the manner which may be ordered by

the Director.

(4) A maximum of three (3) transfer attempts are allowed so as

to ensure compliance with sub-regulation (1), following which the

Director shall order the separation of the donor purse seine vessel, trap

or aquaculture establishment from the transport cage, and may order

that the transport cage concerned be sealed so as to be able to perform

a subsequent controlled transfer at a time and place determined by the

Director

Provided that the subsequent control transfer according to

this sub-regulation shall in all cases be conducted in the presence of an

ICCAT regional observer, or fisheries protection officers or officers

from competent authorities of the catching or farming flag.

(5) The sealing of the cages according to sub-regulation (4)

shall be specifically recorded by video by the donor operator and

copies thereof shall be provided according to regulation 8(2)

Provided that if a control transfer is ordered according to

sub-regulation (2), and the cages are sealed, the video recording of a

subsequent control transfer according to this regulation shall start with

the unsealing operation, in such a way as to allow the identification of

the seals and to verify that the seals have not been tampered with

Provided further that a copy of the video recording of any

sealing operation shall be provided by the donor operator to the ICCAT

regional observer on board the purse seine vessel or the trap, and to the

receiving towing vessel, so that it may be transmitted to the Director

and, or to the competent authority at a subsequent control transfer, as

applicable according to these regulations.

(6) The number of fish determined according to this regulation

shall be used by the donor operator to complete the logbook, the ITD

and the relevant sections of the eBCD.

(7) For all transfer operations where a video is required

according to these regulations, a difference equal to or greater than ten

per cent, between the number of BFT reported by the donor operator in

the ITD and the number determined by the Director or the competent

authority of the donor operator, shall require an investigation by the

Director and following its findings the Director may order such

measures as may be necessary and proportionate to rectify the

situation.

(1) Donor operators shall complete an ITD according to

applicable ICCAT requirements, and they shall transmit a copy of the

same without delay to the Director or the relevant foreign competent

authority, to the ICCAT regional observer whenever the presence of

the latter is required and, as applicable, to the master of the towing

vessel or to the aquaculture establishment receiving the BFT.

(2) The ITD shall accompany the BFT transferred up to the

aquaculture establishment where it will be caged

Provided that upon the first transfer, the original of the ITD

shall be duplicated by the donor operator when a single catch is

transferred from the purse seine net or the trap to more than one

transport cage

Provided further that in the case of a further transfer, the

master of the donor towing vessel shall update the ITD according to

ICCAT requirements, and hand over a copy of the updated ITD to the

receiving towing vessel.

(3) A copy of the ITD shall be kept by all operators involved

with the BFT concerned and be accessible at any time for control

purposes during the duration of the relevant fishing campaign.

(4) The Director shall ensure that the ITD is appropriately

completed and numbered using the three letters MLT or another

applicable designation, followed by the four numbers showing the year

and three sequential numbers, followed by the three letters ITD.

(5) The Director shall be competent to decide whether the ITD

complies with the ICCAT requirements referred in this regulation and

also to identify the applicable ICCAT requirements.

(1) All cagings of BFT in aquaculture establishments Bluefin tuna

shall be subject to a specific authorisation by the Director, issued on caging.

the request of the aquaculture establishment operator, in accordance

with this regulation

Provided that the Director shall not authorise any such

caging if any investigation is ongoing according to these regulations,

or if any requirement of these regulations or of any applicable RFMO

is not satisfied.

(2) Any authorisation according to sub-regulation (1) requires

a written request by the establishment operator which

(a)

specifies the number and weight of the BFT to be

caged

Provided that said number and weight shall coincide

with that in the relevant ITD;

(b) specifies the relevant eBCD reference of the BFT to

be caged, as confirmed and validated by the Director or the

competent authority of the catching vessel or trap; and

(c)

is accompanied by the relevant ITD

Provided that the Director may require such information or

documentation as he may deem necessary to authorise any required

caging

Provided further that the Director may refuse any request

for authorisation if it fails to fully and correctly provide any

information and, or document required under this sub-regulation.

(3) The Director may refuse an authorisation according to this

regulation if the competent authorities of the catching vessel or trap do

not provide him their own authorisation to the caging.

(4) No caging operation may take place in the absence of an

ICCAT regional observer.

(5)

All BFT shall be caged before the 22nd August of each

year

Provided that for valid reasons, including force majeure,

determined according to applicable international law and Maltese law,

the Director may grant caging authorisations for the period between

the 22nd August and the 7th September, both dates included.

(6) Aquaculture establishment operators shall submit to the

Director a caging declaration for each caging operation, by such date

and time and according to such forms as the Director may prescribe.

(7) Transfer of BFT from one cage to another in the same

aquaculture establishment shall require a specific authorisation by the

Director and, if so authorised, the presence of fisheries protection

officers prior to and during the transfer taking place

Provided that such transfer shall be monitored by

stereoscopical and, or conventional video cameras as the Director may

instruct

Provided further that any transfer according to this sub-

regulation shall be recorded in the eBCD system.

(8) The Director may order any operator to release any amount

of live BFT from cages involved in the transfer operation to the

aquaculture establishment, so as to resolve any discrepancy in the

amount of BFT involved and, or so as to comply with any provision of

these regulations or obligations referred under regulation 3(3).

(1) All cages referred in this regulation and used by

Maltese operators, shall be numbered in a visible and legible manner,

in accordance with a unique numbering system that includes the letters

EU.MLT, followed by three numbers, and a code established by the

Director for the particular operator, as may be instructed the Director.

(2) The operators of aquaculture establishments shall cage

specific BFT catches in separate and distinct cages according to the

origin of the BFT, as may be directed by the Director in his

authorisation according to regulation 10.

(3) The operators of aquaculture establishments shall ensure

that they have accurate schematic plans of their aquaculture

establishments, including the number of all cages and their accurate

positioning, and such plans shall be accessible and provided to the

Director at all times and as may be requested.

(4)

Aquaculture establishments shall at all times conform to

their schematic plans according to sub-regulation (4)

Provided that any variance from the schematic plans is

prohibited unless authorised by the Director.

(5) The cages of aquaculture establishments shall be sealed by

fisheries protection officers or as may be instructed by the Director,

and may only be unsealed in the presence of fisheries protection

officers, as may be authorised by the Director.

The Director shall retain a copy of all the information, Caging records.

documents, video recordings, and other material related to caging

activities as relating to aquaculture establishments for at least three(3)

years

Provided that the retention period may be longer if the data

concerned is necessary for control and enforcement purposes, as

deemed necessary by the Director or any other competent authority.

(1) Aquaculture establishment operators shall ensure that Video

each caging operation is monitored and recorded by using monitoring

recordings

stereoscopical cameras, according to such minimum standards and (aquaculture

establishment).

procedures as the Director may order

Provided that the provisions of this regulations are without

prejudice to the use of conventional video cameras to support the

verification of the number of BFT involved.

(2) The Director and the ICCAT regional observer shall have

immediate access to the stereoscopical camera footage, and may

request and obtain copies thereof.

(1) The Director shall determine the number and weight Action on video

of BFT being caged by analysing the video footage provided by the recordings

(aquaculture

aquaculture establishment operator.

establishment).

(2) If the Director deems that the quality and clarity of the

video recordings referred in regulation 13 are not sufficient to

determine the number and, or weight of BFT being caged, the

aquaculture establishment operator shall repeat the caging according to

these regulations, until the determination of the number and weight is

possible, as may be confirmed by the Director

Provided that operations done according to this regulation

shall not require a further caging authorisation when this had already

been granted according to regulation 10.

(3)

In all operations according to sub-regulation (1), the donor

cage shall be blocked to avoid any form of abuse prior to the repeated

caging operation, and the receiving cage shall be empty.

(4) If the Director finds a discrepancy of more than ten per cent

between the number and, or the weight determined according to sub-

regulation (1) and the declarations made according to regulation

10(2)(a), the Director shall investigate the matter.

(1) Any mortalities occurring during towing operations

BFT mortalities.

shall be declared in the towing vessel logbook and in any format as

may be requested by the Director.

(2) All BFT that dies during caging operations shall be

reported to the Director by the aquaculture establishment operator, as

the Director may require.

(3) All BFT that dies while in farming cages after the

respective caging operation shall be reported to the Director by the

aquaculture establishment operator, as the Director may require.

(4) Without prejudice to any other power and responsibility

pertaining to any other competent authority in Malta, the Director may

give instructions to the operators of vessels and, or aquaculture

establishments in relation to the transportation, treatment and disposal

of dead BFT.

(1) Harvesting of BFT held in an aquaculture

establishment shall require a prior authorisation by the Director, upon

a request by the aquaculture establishment operator

Provided that no harvesting shall be authorised if any

investigation or release is pending according to these regulations or

according to international law as may be determined by the Director

Provided further that the Director may authorise the

validation of related eBCDs for slaughtered BFT which are close to

dying, so however that the trading of such slaughtered BFT is

prohibited until the caging section of the relevant eBCD is validated

by the Director.

(2) The Director may prescribe conditions applicable for any

authorisation granted according to this regulation

Provided that compliance with said conditions shall be

necessary for the validity of the relevant authorisation.

(1) All BFT involved in the harvesting operations shall

be weighed according to this regulation.

(2) The Director shall calculate the average eBCD caging

weight at caging referred according to Annex 9 of the ICCAT

Recommendation 19-04 or according to any other ICCAT instruments

providing measures and programmes to estimate the number and

weight of bluefin tuna to be caged.

(3) The Director shall maintain a monitoring database for the

purpose of monitoring and forecasting the average harvest weight of

BFT at harvesting and to estimate the acceptable final HRV per cage

Provided that any forecasts indicating discrepancies in the

acceptable final HRV per cage shall be investigated, and in the case of

any forecasted excesses, the Director may order the release of an

equivalent amount of BFT into the sea.

(4) For the purposes of validating the harvesting sections of

eBCDs according to sub-regulation (5), the Director shall calculate the

HRV by raising up this value by the growth factor for bluefin tuna as

established from time to time by the ICCAT SCRS or any other growth

factor and, or margin of error as may be prescribed by the Director

and, or international law.

(5) After applying the provisions of sub-regulations (1) to (4),

the Director shall validate the harvesting sections of eBCD only if

(a) the number of individual BFT declared in the

respective eBCD are equivalent to the number of individual BFT

verified by the fisheries protection officer at the harvesting

operation;

(b) the number of individual BFT declared in the

respective eBCD is in line with the cumulative balance as

provided by a monitoring database administered by the Director

for the purpose of these regulations; and

(c) the weight harvested as declared in the respective

eBCD is within the acceptable value of the HRV as provided by

said monitoring database.

(6) Failing validation according to sub-regulation (5), and if

the weight of the BFT is in excess of the acceptable value of the HRV,

the Director shall seize the excess BFT in weight

Provided that the Director may, at any time prior to the

actual harvesting, order the release of live BFT equivalent to any said

excess

Provided further that should any excess result following the

actual harvesting, any expenses related to the seizure, inclusive of

expenses due for the haulage, transportation and storage of the seized

fish, shall be charged against the operator of the aquaculture

establishment and such expenses shall be considered as civil debt and

an executive title at law and particularly so for the purposes of the

Code of Organization and Civil Procedure.

Carry-over of live BFT from one year to another shall be

allowed provided that all carry-over operations are authorised by the

Director following a request in writing by the operator of the

aquaculture establishment

Provided that such carry-overs shall be monitored and

recorded with the use of stereoscopical cameras and, or conventional

video cameras as the Director may require, and for so doing the

provisions of regulation 14 shall apply mutatis mutandis as the

Director may require

Provided further that if, following an investigation the

Director determines that there is any excess in numbers of BFT, he

shall require the release of a suitable number of live BFT from the

aquaculture establishment

Provided further that aquaculture establishment may not

compensate discrepancies in any way

Provided further that activity according to this regulation

shall be recorded the eBCD system.

(1) Without prejudice to other controls according to these

regulations, the Director shall order that each aquaculture

establishment is subject to controlled transfers of all the BFT from

such cages as the Director may require, to those other cages which the

Director may require, which transfers shall be referred to as random

controls

Provided that such random control shall be monitored and

controlled by video, inclusive of video recorded with stereoscopic

cameras, as the Director may require

Provided further that any random control ordered according

to this regulation shall be notified to the operator of the concerned

aquaculture establishment within a maximum period of forty-eight

(48) hours from the expected commencement of the random control,

but the actual cages affected shall only be communicated on site upon

the arrival of the relevant fisheries protection officers.

(2) Random controls according to this regulation may be

ordered at any time between the first caging operation at the

aquaculture establishment within a particular year and the first such

caging operation in the following year.

(3) If following a random control according to this regulation

there is any resulting discrepancy between the BFT that should have

been caged according to the relevant declarations and the BFT

resulting following the random control, and said discrepancy is above

that established according to international law, then the Director shall

investigate the matter.

(4) On the basis of the results of the investigation referred in

sub-regulation (3), the Director may make the necessary adjustments

in the number and, or weight in the respective eBCDs to reflect the

BFT actually caged and he may also order a number of BFT to be

released by the aquaculture establishment operator according to such

conditions as the Director may order.

(5) No compensation between the BFT in one cage and the

BFT in another cage is permissible for any discrepancy resulting

according to sub-regulation (3).

Any person who violates a provision of these regulations, Offences.

including by failure to comply with any obligation thereof, or failure to

comply with the orders, requirements or instructions of the Director

shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine (multa) of not less than

five hundred euro (€500) and not more than eighty thousand euro

(€80,000).

The Blue Fin Tuna Harvesting Regulations are hereby Repeal and

repealed without prejudice to anything done or omitted to be done saving.

thereunder.

€1.89