S.L. 425.9 Art. 7plan will be the biological 7 is therefore ‘lampuki’), Maltese fishing participate in management lampuki using 1967/ which does not as The the for use In 180 7 7.1 1. 2. For to Stock time The With select The Table plan

Monitoring and evaluation of the results.

The present plan should be considered as a living document. The revised on the basis of new information (data) and in terms of and socio-economic performance of the chosen measures. Step of paramount importance.

6 Description of the fishery

The lampuki (C. hippurus), in Malta known as ‘lampuka’ (plural: is one of the most important species for the economy of the industry.

Due to its traditional appeal, a consistent number of boat owners this seasonal activity. Every season, in line with existent measures, a maximum of 130 vessels are authorised to fish for FADs in accordance to paragraph 2 of Article 27 of Council Regulation 2006 and a surrounding net with a central body and 2 wings, have a purse line and does not enclose the fish from below. Lampuki FADs are of an artisanal nature. They consist of a floating rectangular artisanal float anchored to the bottom by means of a limestone block. Attached to the artisanal float are a number of palm fronds which serve primitive devices to attract fish.

FADs are distributed along transects all around the Maltese Islands, with exception of another existent management measure reserving an area known as the swordfish corridor to the south-west of Malta, which is reserved surface longline fishing. During the fishing season, during which the lampuki aggregate under the FADs, authorised vessels catch the species by the of the surrounding net.

line with Council Regulation 1967/2006, the surrounding net has a maximum mesh size of 18 mm bar, a maximum total length ranging between and 200 m and a maximum total drop of 36 m.

Maltese management plan for the lampuki FAD fishery

Objectives

Based on the biological, social and economic aspects of the fishery the following objectives have been defined:

Ensuring the sustainability of the stock through better monitoring of Maltese vessels Ensuring financial stability for fishers each objective, specific indicators and benchmarks were established so as reach the objectives of the plan.

assessments for the related stocks are not available and thus the long series of landings data, together with population state indicators such as yearly minimum size at first capture and average length are used in order to deduce status of the stock. Target reference points are set based on the findings.

socio-economic indicators and targets were calculated based on a set of variables and indicators using the economic data collected annually.

the findings several scenarios were presented and assessed in order to the best management measures for the Maltese lampuki FAD fishery within the 25 NM FMZ.

objectives, indicators and targets are presented in Table 1 below.

1 Objectives, indicators and targets for the lampuki fishery management

Objectives Indicator Targets Biological