Malta enhances fisheries monitoring with deployment of Ocean Sentinel

Malta is reinforcing its oversight of fishing activities in international waters through a strategic partnership with the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), in a move designed to safeguard the country’s fisheries sector and ensure regulatory compliance across the Mediterranean.

The EFCA-deployed Ocean Sentinel, one of three inspection vessels operating in the region, is currently conducting maritime surveillance with a particular focus on tuna fishing operations during the peak season.

The vessel is monitoring high-risk activities by purse seine fishing and tuna towing vessels located roughly 25 nautical miles south of Malta, an area known for significant bluefin tuna catches. Purse seine nets are used in fishing to target dense schools fish.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to enforce European Union, General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean GFCM, and International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) regulations governing sustainable fishing practices and fair competition.

Local inspectors are working alongside counterparts from other EU Member States onboard the Ocean Sentinel, and are also contributing to real-time operations from EFCA’s Control Room in Vigo, Spain.

Recent enforcement actions suggest the initiative is having a measurable impact. A number of third-country vessels, including Turkish fishing boats, were found operating in Maltese-controlled waters without the required authorisation. Appropriate legal and regulatory steps were promptly taken.

This increased enforcement follows concerns raised by Maltese fishermen in recent years about illegal activities by foreign vessels. Their reports prompted EFCA and the European Commission to respond with greater surveillance presence in the central Mediterranean, including around the Sicilian Channel.

In its statement, the Government said that on the policy front, Malta is continuing its efforts at the European level, engaging in negotiations to strengthen Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and to ensure that the GFCM enforces the same obligations on third-country vessels as it does on European fishermen.

A provisional agreement has also been reached on new EU regulations targeting unsustainable fishing practices by non-EU countries.