It is not surprising if marine life and its survival increasingly conflict with human interests. As human resource requirements will increase and greater technology and efficiency in acquiring such resources will be utilised, marine life will not stand a chance! One may recall for example, that the English newspaper 'The Independent' in October 1997 reported the announcement from the Fisheries Minister Elliot Morley that Britain will use its presidency of the EU in 1998 to outlaw the huge "walls of death" floating behind tuna boats. Thousands of dolphins are killed by drift nets. A French study in 1993 estimated that about 1,600 dolphins were killed by their fleet that year. Mr. Morley said "Ministry funded research has demonstrated there are large catches of dolphins and other non-target species. The UK has some fishermen using drift nets and the interests of all fishermen participating in the fishery need to be taken into account. But we have concluded that it is time to act to phase out the use of drift net on the high seas." The drift nets are used by British, French and Irish fishermen to catch tuna in the Atlantic, mainly concentrating around the Bay of Biscay. This use has not only produced casualties among sharks, turtles, smaller whales and dolphins but also triggered a fish war in the Bay of Biscay in 1994 in which Cornish boats had their nets cut away by Spanish vessels. The latter use poles and lines with hooks for their tuna catch, which ends up being five times more expensive than that gathered by nets, and thus cannot afford the decline in price due to quick accumulation of tuna (caught with nets) on the market.

The above experience should highlight and teach us several lessons on the use of fisheries. First of all, appropriate techniques that reduce by-catch to a minimum should be the most important preoccupation of each Country setting out to exploit a natural resource; Secondly, co-ordination and limits of catch size per fishing vessel and per Country should become rigorous practice especially in the Mediterranean.

Tuna fisheries for example, are very important in the Mediterranean, as in the Atlantic, and again serious conflicts between neighbouring countries or fishermen using different methods to catch their tuna stocks often arise in the Mediterranean. The majority of Maltese fishermen make use of long lines for tuna fishing but most of the tuna stock is found to decline drastically prior to its arrival close to our Islands. Most local fishermen state that this is due to the use of drift nets and purse-seine nets used by large and fully equipped tuna fishing fleets of neighbouring countries.

As tuna stocks are a limited resource, local fishermen have often wondered why spotters (specialised small planes or helicopters able to survey the seas for tuna and at times for associated dolphins as indicators of tuna presence) are allowed to land in Malta for fuel when their fishing activity may be damaging to both the local fauna and the local fishing industry. This problem was also put forward by some fishermen to the local Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, at the 1997's general meeting of the National Fishing Co-operative Ltd. (Malta).

In order to sample the opinion and attitude of Maltese fishermen and sea-users toward local marine life, a preliminary questionnaire study was undertaken in 1997 with the assistance of the National Fishing Co-operative Ltd. (Malta), the Fisheries Department and the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Here one must acknowledge the contribution of all who replied the questionnaire and returned it for analyses. A second more detailed questionnaire study is being prepared for 1999 with the added assistance of research volunteers and members of the Biological Conservation Research Foundation (BICREF).

From the first questionnaires analysed a number of interesting results were obtained and a few are highlighted here. Firstly, most of the questionnaires received come from experienced sea-users with more than 15 years spent going out at sea. Among the individuals sampled, the fishermen (both full-timers and part-timers) were by far the most frequent sea-users with an overall average of 73 days in summer, 47 days in autumn; 34 days in winter and 48 days in spring. They also revealed to be the individuals with the longest period at sea with an overall average of 23 years experience at sea as fishermen.

These fishermen also proved to be the group within this sample to have experienced the greater number of sightings of dolphins, whales, sharks and sea turtles. This would be expected for three main reasons. First because of the time and experience at sea; and secondly due to their relationship with the sea which is closely linked with fish stocks; and thirdly their active capture of these fish may often involve capture of other marine organisms as by-catches. This definitely confirms that fishermen can greatly contribute to our local marine knowledge and preservation. Most fishermen sampled showed willingness to contribute toward research in more than one way.

The questionnaire results also revealed that fishermen's attitudes toward marine organisms especially dolphins is diverse. Some described dolphins as being troublesome because dolphins have a reputation (especially among fishermen) of ruining the fishing nets and imperilling the fishermen's catch and income. This result indicates that some fishermen are strongly against the presence of dolphins especially in fishing areas. Thus education and appropriate measures should be undertaken to rectify this situation. Other fishermen stated that though they find dolphins troublesome, they also found them a joy to see. In another category altogether, some fishermen stated exclusively that it is a joy to see cetaceans and stated that they also consider them important to the marine environment. Few of the fishermen sampled did not find cetaceans of any interest to them whatsoever.

Overall, fishermen did not fear conveying their real feelings for cetaceans, good or bad these feelings may be, making the overall result significant as it shows a majority of fishermen wishing to co-exist with other marine organisms, including those which are considered as competitors to their fishing resources. The positive majority of fishermen's replies, to the question on whether they would like to see more or less cetaceans, corroborate this.

The importance of fishermen's contribution to this questionnaire increasingly added weight as one approached questions relating to local fish stock and local fish catch status and their assessment of the need for local marine research, education and conservation.

A clear predominance of low fish stock and low fish catch replies from these fishermen went hand in hand with a clear interest and desire for marine research. These two results are a strong indication that the local marine life is in depletion and that even fishermen are realising and seeking scientific research as an aid to improving and conserving the local marine life. Many fishermen fear that such an impoverishment of the sea may jeopardise their own profession and that of their children. When asked to categorise according to priority the activities required for safeguarding marine life including cetaceans: conservation, education and research were all considered important, to the point that nearly equal numbers of fishermen opted for each of these activities as being the most important.

Not all fishermen sampled here consider the sea as only a natural resource which is there for exploitation but on the contrary equal numbers considered the sea as a source of pleasure, as a source of adventure and as one of the last natural environments left for the Maltese people.

The unexpected low consideration of the sea's economic value, when considering the whole sample of Maltese sea-users (including fishermen), is striking but may be understood when considering that only a portion of the sample (the fishermen) really may consider the sea as of direct economic importance. Even though the sea is a strong tourist attraction for both its surface activities and SCUBA activities, it is rarely considered as a capital asset with a value that needs to be preserved for future economic income. This highlights the fact that too often the sea is considered for its uneconomical merits which thus makes it vulnerable to exploitation and abuse without financial pay-back given for its safe-guard, through marine conservation research, management and monitoring.

However, when this result is considered with that reflecting local marine fish stocks and fish catches, where over 90% of the whole sample of Maltese sea-users stated that fish stocks are decreasing and over 80% stated that fish catches are also decreasing, the urgent need for local marine conservation research, management and monitoring becomes evident. As to who should put in time and effort toward safeguarding marine life, 78% stated that it should be those most actively using the marine environment. This overwhelming positive reply to the last question, stands as an indicator of an increasing local awareness. Anyway it reflects a changing trend among Maltese sea-users toward the marine environment which should not go unnoticed and which needs to be encouraged to ensure the sustainable utilisation of our marine environment.

All this indicates that fishing in Maltese waters needs to be regulated and assisted in every manner possible. Necessary paths to follow include: 1) Government subsidising or controlling fishing gear in order to reduce by-catch to a minimum and directing local fishermen toward maintaining a living without long-lasting effects on the marine ecosystem; 2) Funding for scientific research of marine life, its quality and sustenance in order to be able to manage and protect both marine resources, on which we depend on, and the marine environment itself. For example, the impact of over-exploitation of some marine resources, such as fish species of economic importance, is one of the urgent assessment requirements for both these fish stocks' sustenance and for the survival of associated marine species. The results of such conservation research would allow fishermen to profit of more efficient and viable methods of fishing, thus securing their income in the future.

The conservation of a healthy sea for future generations is not an easy task but it is necessary like any other measure which is being undertaken to safeguard our health and future well-being. Just as various types of pollution pose serious threats to life in our seas, so does various types of unmonitored and uncontrolled exploitation of marine resources cause unrepairable damage.