Minister, PS were ‘never contacted directly or indirectly’ by Spanish tuna kingpin
Neither Environment Minister Jose Herrera nor Parliamentary Secretary Clint Camilleri have even been directly or indirectly contacted by Jose Fuentes, according to a ministry spokesperson.
The Spanish tuna kingpin at the centre of a scandal that has seen the suspension of Malta’s fisheries director, Andreina Fenech Farrugia.
Fenech Farrugia was suspended indefinitely after Spanish news outlet El Confidencial published transcripts that allegedly show how she asked Fuentes for payment. The leaked transcripts also suggest that Fenech Farrugia was using her position to influence the environment ministry in favour Fuentes, with whom she had a close relationship.
More of the transcripts were published yesterday, showing how Fenech Farrugia spoke to Fuentes Garcia about meetings with the “minister” and other “government officials.”
In one part, Fuentes greets “Andreina” with “gorgeous”, which prompts her to reply that “the minister and everyone else wants me”.
In another part of the transcriptFuentes tells “Andreina” he is coming to Malta for the meeting with the minister on Tuesday. The meeting is to secure a larger (tuna) quota. "Andreina" says she is sorting it out herself.
According to the El Confidencial report, the Spanish group, which owns the Malta-based Mareblu fish farm, was importing undeclared tuna from Malta and selling it abroad, in an illegal trade that is believed to have reached up to €25 million.
According to the report, the request for payment was made in June 2018, at a time when EU fisheries heads were meeting under the auspices of Bulgaria’s EU Council presidency. Farrugia Fenech is denying the allegations.
Replying to questions sent by this newspaper, a spokesman for the environment ministry said that both the Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary met with Fenech Farrugia “only in her capacity as a Director General for Fisheries and Aquaculture. Any innuendo of a ‘close relationship’ is pure senseless fabrication.”
“With respect to the reference being made to other meetings held with individuals involved specifically in the aquaculture sector, the Ministry would like to state that such meetings are held with all stakeholder of all the sectors related to the Ministry. However, although the Ministry will not speculate on who the referred named individual is, under no circumstance will the Ministry or its representatives allow any undue pressure to be made,” the spokesperson said, adding that neither the minister nor the PS had ever had direct or indirect contact with Fuentes.
Corrective measures
The European Commission said yesterday that it was discussing “corrective measures” with the Maltese authorities after the findings of the Spanish investigation.
European Commission spokesperson said yesterday that The Director General of DG MARE was in Bulgaria for an informal meeting of the Directors General from all Member States organised by the Bulgarian Presidency to discuss the Commission’s proposal for a control regulation. He participated in that meeting and had no bilateral meeting with Fenech Farrugia.
The European Commissioner responsible for fisheries, Karmenu Vella, yesterday condemned “infringements and malpractices” that have led to the suspension of Fenech Farrugia.
“We strongly condemn the infringements and malpractices as reported by the Spanish Guardia Civil under ‘Operation Tarantelo’. They are in breach of EU and international rules and as such cannot be tolerated,” Vella said in a statement.
The Commission said it has been in contact with all the relevant national authorities and other relevant actors in this operation (i.e. Europol) to follow up on the ongoing Tarantelo investigation, which is now at the level of the “Audiciencia Nacional” in Spain.
“We stand ready to provide any further assistance that may be required to the relevant authorities working on the ‘Operation Tarantelo’,” Vella said.
The EC said it conducts regular audits in tuna farms. An audit in Maltese tuna farms, carried out in October 2018, highlighted a number of shortcomings.
“The Commission takes the findings very seriously. We are now in the process of discussing corrective measures with the Maltese authorities as a matter of priority. Other measures may be taken by the European Commission in line with the Treaty. The Commission will continue to closely monitor and scrutinise the activities of blue fin tuna fisheries in all member states concerned,” a spokesperson said.
“Furthermore, the European Commission is working with all Member States concerned and with the European Fisheries Control Measures to strengthen ICCAT control measures applicable to Bluefin tuna and in particular to farms.
“The commission said the case was originally detected because of food safety issues, which eventually led to wider ramifications in terms of non-respect of fisheries rules.
“The fishery for bluefin tuna from the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean is often considered as the most controlled fishery in the world. Nevertheless, this fishery has also some specificities which make it challenging to control, in particular in relation to live fish being kept in farming installations.
“The practices reported by the Spanish Guardia Civil show a high degree of sophistication in the malpractices involving several companies and nationals in a number of EU Member States operating in full coordination to ensure the secrecy of their activities.
“The results of the Spanish Guardia Civil’s investigation clearly show the need to consider the tightening of control rules for Bluefin tuna farming and the revision of traceability rules to avoid the marketing of illegal fish. The European Commission is working on such measures with EU Member States and the EFCA at both EU and ICCAT levels.
“We have carefully taken note of the events reported by the Guardia Civil. We are also analysing the information collected by the Commission's inspectors to decide on possible amendments to the current legal framework and/or update the existing monitoring, control and surveillance practices.”
The commission said that for the time being it had no clear estimate of the bluefin tuna quantities concerned, the origin of the fish and the possible ICCAT Contracting Parties involved.
“It is therefore difficult to evaluate if these illegal catches might have an impact which would require revisiting the TAC agreed in 2017 in ICCAT for the year 2018.
“Member States are responsible for undertaking investigations related to fisheries infringements in conformity with their national laws. They also need to establish a system of sanctions in their legal system for those infringements, ensure the liability of legal persons and take the appropriate measures against the nationals involved. The European Commission cannot replace the national authorities in their responsibilities, but we stand ready to offer any assistance that may be required,” the spokesperson said.
“Having said this, in accordance with the powers conferred to the Commission by the Control Regulation, the Commission may carry out its own verifications or inspections in Member States and to private operators. In this particular case, the Commission has recently deployed its inspection teams in selected bluefin tuna farms to verify compliance with EU and ICCAT rules. The analysis of those inspections’ findings will establish whether additional action may be required from Member States. We are in also in the process of contacting other ICCAT Contracting Parties in order to request further clarification on possible ramifications of this operation in non-EU countries.”
The commission said it will continue to follow up the case in coordination with the authorities of the relevant Member States to ensure that appropriate action is taken and that the EU Regulations are fully complied with.