FLASH
Shkruar nga PamfletiThe ship "Rozafa 15", owned by Gjergj Luca, was detained by Maltese authorities in 2022 with over 600 tons of illegally caught fish in Maltese territorial waters, with a market value of around 600 thousand euros.
In 2022, the fishing vessel “ROZAFA 15”, part of the Rozafa company fleet registered in Albania and owned by oligarch Gjergj Luca, was caught fishing illegally in Maltese territorial waters. The event was made public by the Maltese state television TVMnews, but was never covered by Albanian institutions.
According to TVMnews , the “ROZAFA 15” was signaled by a Maltese fisherman operating in the area, who informed the authorities that the Albanian vessel was fishing for tuna in an area closed to foreign vessels. The position was about 25 miles off the west-southwest coast of the Maltese islands, within Malta’s territorial waters, where fishing permits for tuna are only granted to vessels registered in the country.
After being alerted, the Maltese Fisheries Department ordered patrol vessels to pursue the Albanian vessel. When the “ROZAFA 15” was stopped, inspectors found that it was accompanied by two other auxiliary vessels. On board were over 600 live large tuna (Thunnus thynnus), kept in a 50-meter metal cage placed in seawater.
According to 2022 market data, a live tuna caught in the Mediterranean can be sold for 800 to 1500 euros per unit in European markets, and much more in Asian export markets. Taking a conservative average of 1000 euros per unit, the value of the “ROZAFA 15” catch amounted to around 600 thousand euros.
The captain of the Rozafa, Andon Nako, initially denied the allegations, claiming that the fish had been caught outside Malta's borders. But after the Department of Fisheries' mandatory request to dock the vessel at Marsa Deep Water Quay for a full inspection, he admitted in an interview with TVMnews:
"We made a mistake. We entered Maltese territorial waters a little, about 25 miles, and now we decided to release the fish."
The reaction of the Maltese authorities
The Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Alicia Bugeja Said, in a public statement to TVMnews said:
“The government is committed to ensuring that the necessary controls are implemented to protect fish stocks and ensure that the fishing sector operates sustainably. This case shows that the law will be enforced regardless of the flag a vessel flies.”
Following the decision to release the fish into the sea, in the presence of Maltese inspectors and other law enforcement officers, “ROZAFA 15” was allowed to leave.
The rules for tuna fishing in the EU are set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and are reinforced by European legislation. Malta, as an EU member state, has limited tuna catch quotas, which are allocated only to domestically registered and licensed vessels. Fishing in territorial waters without a permit is an offence which can lead to confiscation of the catch, heavy financial penalties and seizure of the vessel in repeated cases.
In the case of “ROZAFA 15”, entering 25 miles within territorial waters and seizing the massive quantity constituted a violation of the article on “exploitation of the natural resources of another state without authorization”
This case is not a technical error by a captain, but a deliberate act that shows how Gjergj Luca's business works. The trafficker and oligarch who has built his fortune on the plunder of marine resources and public land, uses the Albanian flag as a cover for international violations and then returns to Albania as if nothing had happened.
In Malta they forced him to enforce the law, in Albania they reward him with public lands and access to strategic ports. This contrast is not a coincidence, it is a consequence of the political protection that Luca has from Edi Rama.
This is the message that the EU must read clearly: there can be no European integration when the prime minister publicly defends people caught red-handed violating the laws of a member state.
Gjergj Luca, a simple question: does Edi Rama know this story, or are these 'small matters' not worth talking about?
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