FISHERY ġ S.L.425.01 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 425.01
FISHERY REGULATIONS
25th May, 1934;
23rd April, 1935
GOVERNMENT NOTICE 206 of 1934, as amended by Legal Notices 48
of 1962, 19 of 1964, 80 of 1978, 58 of 1979 and 154 of 1993; and
GOVERNMENT NOTICE 148 of 1935, as amended by Government Notice
481 of 1936 and Notice dated 23.02.1937, consolidated.
Title .
Fishing without 
licence.
2. Subject to the provisions of regulations 10 and 11, the use
of the following fishing implements and methods is permitted
without any licence at all times and in all localities:
(i) all methods of hook and line fishing, including
jigging with  gulpara  and  ħiel ;
(ii) the fish spear or grains;
(iii) the basket traps called  drajna ,  nassi tal-gran ċ,
nassi tal-qarnit , and  nassi tal-imrejjen ;
(iv) the small hand nets called  kopp tal-gambli ,  kopp
tal-wi ċċ,  kopp tal-la ċċi , and  kopp tal-lhud ;
(v) all other minor and recognised fishing
implements not otherwise specified in these
Regulations, such as  delfinara ,  gan ċ, or  gaffa .
Licence to use 
fishing 
implements.
3. The use of any fishing implement which is not mentioned
in regulation 2 is subject to a licence from the Director of Fisheries.
Prohibition of use 
of  lampara .
G.N. 148 of 1935; 
as amended by
G.N. 481 of 1936, 
and Notice dated
23.02.1937, 
consolidated .
4. (1) The use of the fishing implement known as the
lampara  is prohibited within the territorial waters of Malta.
(2) The Prime Minister may, however, grant a limited number
of licenses for fishing by means of the  lampara  whenever he
considers it necessary, in order to ensure a sufficient supply of fish
for the population of Malta:
Provided that the use of the  lampara  shall not be permitted
within one mile from the shores of Malta.
Locality specified 
in the licence.
5. Unless provided for in these Regulations, the locality in
which, and the period during which, the implement may be used
shall be specified on the licence.
Licence for 
scientific purposes.
6. The Director may grant for scientific purposes a licence for
the use of any implement in any locality except those localities
indicated in regulation 12.
Special permits for 
fishponds.
7. The Director may grant, for the purposes of restocking
fishponds, special permits to owners of fishponds to fish within
prohibited areas, other than those indicated in regulations 11 and
12, for a specified number of times in a year under such conditions
as may from time to time be imposed.
Withdrawal of 
licence.
8. It shall be lawful for the Director to grant or withdraw
2 ġ S.L.425.01 FISHERY
without compensation any licence, to order modifications in any
implement or to prohibit its use, and to make any change in the
demarcations of closed areas and in the periods established for the
use of any implement.
Validity of licence. 9. Licences under these Regulations shall be personal and
shall be valid up to the 31st December and renewable on the 1st
January. 
Number of 
licences.
10. The number of licences to be issued for each kind of
implement shall be left to the discretion of the Director.
Prohibition of 
fishing.
11. Fishing is strictly  prohibited  in the proximity of the sewage
outfall at Wied  G ħammieq  within the area demarcated on the land
side by two stone pillars painted red situated on the sides of the
drainage outlet, one on Xg ħajra shore in the vicinity of Ras il- Ġebel
and the other under the Ricasoli Bastion and on the sea side by two
range buoys. It is also  p rohibited to collect by any means from the
same area any edible marine products.
Fishing not 
permitted in certain 
areas.
12. No fishing shall be permitted in the Dockyard Creek or in
the French Creek, that is in those parts of the Grand Harbour to the
south east of a line drawn from St.Angelo Point to Isola Point and
thence to the northern end of Parlatorio Wharf and Corradino Hill
without a special licence issued by the Director with the approval
of the Prime Minister.
Fishing 
implements carried 
on boats.
13. Persons carrying in their boats any fishing implement shall
be deemed, for the purposes of these Regulations, to have used
such implements.
Trawling.  14. It shall not be lawful for any steam or motor propelled
vessel or trawler, as well as for sailing vessels, to shoot or tow any
kind of nets within the territorial waters of these Islands; neither
may the method of towing a trawl between two power driven
vessels ( paranze ) be practised within the said territorial waters.
The seine net 
( tartarun ).
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
15. It shall not be lawful to keep or use a seine net without a
licence for its use. No mesh of this implement shall be less than
eight point five millimetres long each side knot to knot, even when
the net is wet and its weights shall not be so heavy as to cause the
sinking of the floats.
Use of seine net in 
bays.
16. In all bays and creeks, the limit of the area within which
the use of the seine net shall be lawful will be outwards of a line
drawn between two stone pillars placed on opposite sides of such
bays and creeks.
Turbid waters. 17. The use of the seine net shall not be permitted in any
locality when the waters are turbid. 
Forfeiture of 
licence.
18. Licences for the use of the seine net shall be forfeited upon
a second conviction for contraventions of the provisions governing
the use of the implement.
Special permits.
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
19. The Director may grant special permits for stated periods
for the use of the seine net within the prohibited areas for the
purpose of catching migratory fish, provided no mesh of the net is
less than twenty-five point five millimetres square.
FISHERY ġ S.L.425.01 3
Shrimp dredge.
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
20. It shall not be lawful to keep or use a shrimp dredge
without a licence for its use. The net of this implement shall have
no meshes less than six point five millimetres square, even when
wet, and shall in no case be longer than three point one metres,
whilst the iron bar at its mouth shall not exceed one point five
metres in length and the weight of the implement shall not be
greater than that of a sample dredge kept at the office of the
Director.
Use of shrimp 
dredge.
21. The use of the shrimp dredge shall only be permitted -
( a ) from the 1st November to the 31st January; and
( b ) outside those localities where the use of the seine net
is prohibited.
Long pole net 
( kopp tal-lasta ).
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
22. It shall not be lawful to keep or use a long pole net without
a licence for its use. The net of this implement shall have no
meshes less than six point five millimetres square. This implement
shall be subject generally to the conditions laid down for the
shrimp dredge.
Cast net ( terrie ħa ). 
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
23. The use of the cast net shall not be permitted inside bays
and harbours and none of its meshes shall be less than twenty-five
point five millimetres square.
Trammels and 
gilling nets.
24. Trammels and gilling nets are not allowed to be used from
the 15th February to the 15th July in those localities where the use
of the seine net is prohibited. In the Grand and Marsamxett
harbours, the use of these implements is prohibited at all times
within the prohibited areas above mentioned.
Special permits.
trammels and gilling nets within the prohibited areas in case of the
appearance of shoals of mature anchovies, sardines, mackerel,
bonitos or any other pelagic fish. The permit shall specify the exact
type of the net to be used for this purpose.
The  kannizzati  
fishery.
26. The fishing positions used in the  kannizzati  fishery shall be
allocated each year by lot under such conditions as the Director
may deem fit to impose and it shall not be lawful to lay any floats
for this method of fishing without a licence.
Validity of licence.
Amended by:
L.N. 48 of 1962;
L.N. 19 of 1964;
L.N. 80 of 1978;
L.N. 58 of 1979.
27. Notwithstanding the provision of regulation 9 of these
Regulations, the licence referred to in regulation 26 shall be
effective for the period beginning on the 1st August of the year of
issue and ending on the 31st January immediately following such
year, during which period no person other than the licensee shall be
allowed to fish within a radius of one hundred and eighty metres
from the floats of his own  kannizzati .
Limitation of 
licences.
28. It shall be lawful for the Director to limit the issue of
licences referred to in regulation 26 to  bona fide  fishermen only.
Tunny nets.
coasts of these Islands under such conditions as the Director may
deem fit to impose. The Director may also direct that no other kind
of fishing shall be allowed in the locality where a tunny net is set.
4 ġ S.L.425.01 FISHERY
Nun buoys.
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
30. At each end of the seaward extremity of any tunny net,
there shall be moored a nun buoy of such size that its diameter at
the water line is not less than one metre and the vertical height from
its apex to the water line is one point five metres. Such buoy is to
be surmounted by a cage or ball three hundred millimetres in
diameter fitted on a staff, the vertical height from the top of the
cage or ball to the water line to be not less than two point seven
five metres.
Mooring of boat by 
night.
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
31. By night there shall be moored at the seaward shoot of
every tunny net a boat showing in a vertical line one over the other
one metre apart two bright lights so fixed that the upper light shall
be not less than three point one metres from the water line and of
such a character as to be visible on a dark night with a clear
atmosphere all round the horizon at a distance of not less than two
nautical miles.
Sites for laying 
tunny nets.
32. Subject to a licence from the Director, the following sites
are available for the laying of tunny nets:
( a ) Mellie ħa; 
( b ) Ċirkewwa and Id-Delli; and
( c ) G ħajn Tuffie ħa and  Ġnejna.
Should anyone propose to lay a tunny net in any other
locality, an application to that effect should be made to the Director
who will decide as to whether the site may conveniently be leased
for the purpose.
Ormeggios. 33. The Director is empowered to grant licences to fish on
reserved sites ( irmi ġġi ).
Such licences may only be granted for sites within areas
where the use of the seine net is prohibited and shall be valid up to
the end of the year during which they are issued.
Application for 
licence.
34. Applications for licences to fish on reserved sites shall be
accompanied by a plan showing the site applied for and forwarded
to the Director, who will decide as to whether the site applied for
may conveniently be leased for the purpose.
Prohibition of 
fishing.
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
35. It shall not be lawful for persons other than the relative
licensee to fish within a radius of eighteen metres from the floats of
any licensed ormeggio.
Basket traps.
Amended by:
L.N. 58 of 1979.
36. The use of basket traps other than those mentioned in
regulation 2 shall not be permitted within bays and harbours if the
size of any of the meshes is less than twenty-five point five
millimetres wide.
Minimum size 
limits.
37. It shall not be lawful to sell or buy or be on land in
possession of any fishes or cephalopods of a size less than is
prescribed in regulation 38, with the exception of transparent goby
( makku ) and of whitebait ( srajdna  and  nemusa ), for which no size
limit is prescribed.
FISHERY ġ S.L.425.01 5
Schedule of 
minimum sizes. 
Substituted by: 
L.N. 58 of 1979.
38. The minimum sizes of fishes, measured overall, shall be
according to the following schedule:
Ħan żir.
as " ħan żir " without a licence for its use.
Ħġie ġa .
as  ħġie ġa  without a licence for its use.
Dredge for 
molluscs.
41. It shall not be lawful to dredge for molluscs except in such
sections of the Valletta harbours as will be indicated for specified
periods by the Director, nor to use for such dredgings any
implements except those of a type as established by the same
Director.
Bivalves.
be on land in possession of any bivalves, except stone borers
( tamar ), which shall be less than the gauge established for each
species by the Director.
Gauges.
the necessary gauges bearing the government mark.
Type of gauges.
regulations shall be in accordance with the specimen kept at the
office of the Police at the Custom House, Valletta, and such species
of bivalves landed or exposed for sale shall not be less than the size
limit shown on the gauge and marked respectively 1, 2, 3 and 4, as
hereunder specified, namely:
Minimum Size
Voparella  and  Vopa  (Box boops) ..................... 90 millimetres
Ar żnella  and  Munqara  (Smaris vulgaris) ......... 90 millimetres
Trilja  or Red Mullets (Mullus barbatus and
Mullus sarmuletus) including  Triljetta  ........ 100 millimetres
All other fishes except those mentioned in
regulation 37 .............................................. 115 millimetres
Cephalopods, measured from the anterior side
of the eye to the posterior end of the body:
Cuttlefish ( si ċċ) ....................................... 75 millimetres
Squid ( klamari ) ....................................... 100 millimetres
No.
Ostrea lamellosa ( ko ċċli ) 4 
Venus verrucosa ( gandoffli )  3
Dosinia exoleta ( dajni ) 3
Tapes decussatus ( arzelli   nigri )  2
Cardium rusticum ( arzell tal-Marsa ) 1
Tapes aureus ( arzell trapanis )  1
Cardita sulcata ( lew ż) 2
Cardiun paucicostatum ( lew ż tal-qoxra rqiqa ) 2
Psanmobia vespartina ( imxat )  1
Mytilus galloprovincialis ( maskli ) 3
6 ġ S.L.425.01 FISHERY
Grappler. 45. The use of the grappler ( imqass ) for the use of raising
bivalves will only be permitted under the same conditions as are
imposed for the use of the dredge for molluscs.
Cultivation of 
shellfish and other 
fish.
Amended by:
L.N. 154 of 1993.
46. The Director may reserve specified areas in the territorial
waters of Malta for the cultivation of mussels and oysters and other
fish, including finfish, molluscs and crustaceans, and may grant a
concession for this purpose for a specified period on such terms as
he may establish.
Sponge fishing. 47. Fishing for sponges shall only be allowed under such
conditions as the Director may deem fit to impose and no
operations may be conducted without a licence.
Lights for fishing. 48. The use of lights for fishing purposes shall not be
permitted within bays and harbours.
Landing places. 49. No fish may be brought ashore except at specified landing
places notified as such by the Director.
Poisons and 
explosives.
50. It shall not be lawful to use, for fishing purposes, poisons
or any other substance which acts as poison on fish; and it shall not
be lawful knowingly to collect from the sea or to expose for sale, or
otherwise to be in possession of, any fish killed or caught by means
of explosives or poisons or by any substance which acts as poison
on fish.
Offences.
Cap. 9.
51. Besides the punishments established by the Criminal Code
for contraventions, any person who, not being guilty of a more
serious offence, contravenes the prohibition laid down in the
regulation 50, shall, on conviction, have his fish confiscated.
