Government Notices published in Govt. Gazette No. 20,105 of 14th December 2018

IT is notified for general information that, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, the President of Malta has directed that Hon. Chris Fearne, MD, FRCS(Ed), MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, assumes the additional duties of the Prime Minister, on Thursday, 13th December, 2018, during the absence from Malta of the Hon. Joseph Muscat, KUOM, BCom, BA (Hons), MA (European Studies), PhD (Bristol), MP.

THE President of Malta has been pleased to approve the transfer of Captain Patrick Barbara from the Regular Force of the Armed Forces of Malta to the Individual Reserve Force, on retirement, with effect from 11th January, 2019.

IT is hereby notified that Government Notice number 102 published in Government Gazette number 19,533 of the 5th February, 2016, has been cancelled.

THE Minister for Home Affairs and National Security has been pleased to approve the promotion of the undermentioned to the rank of Lieutenant with effect from the date shown against his name.

2 Lieutenant Rene Bezzina14th February, 2015

THE Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security has approved the following acting appointment:

NAME         POSITION      DEPARTMENT           DATE

Mr Mark Seychell      Director   Probation and Parole29.12.2018-4.1.2019

Fishing for Litter Scheme 

Opening Date for applications: 12/11/2018

Closing Date for applications: 31/12/2018

1. Objective of public call

THE Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) within The Ministry for Enviornment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change (MESDC) hereinafter referred to as the ‘Contracting Authority’, is hereby publishing this call with the purpose of identifying eligible persons to participate within the Fishing for Litter scheme during the bottom trawling fishing seasons from January to December 2019.  Applicants must be in possession of a valid fishing licence and be authorised to operate bottom otter trawls. These services will be provided during the period of the latter mentioned year. After expiry of this period, the agreement with the selected list of successful applicants may be renewed on an annual basis under the same terms and conditions.  

1.2 Unsatisfactory performance may lead to the termination of the agreement according to established procedures and good practice.

1.3 All references to any particular gender shall be construed to refer and include the other gender. 

2. Applicable Rules and Regulations

The selected applicant/s shall be supplied with empty Jumbo Bags by Waste Serve Malta Ltd free of charge. These will be used by the selected applicants to collect plastic litter that is recovered incidentally from the sea during normal bottom trawling fishing activities.  Once such a Jumbo Bag has been filled with marine plastic litter, the applicant is to inform the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture that a Jumbo Bag will be landed at one of the designated collection sites as may be stipulated by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture from time to time.  This notification is to happen simultaneously with the mandatory notification that the vessel is returning to port from fishing activity.   On landing, a Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture official will be in attendance, make checks as may be necessary and insert an entry on the Fishing for Litter Form as provided by the same Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and held by the Service Provider to confirm the landing.  Replacement empty Jumbo Bags may be collected from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. 

The selected applicants shall act in all respects according to instructions and direction as given by the Director General (Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture) or his delegated representative. 

3. Duration of Agreement and Payment

3.1 The agreement period shall commence on the day of the official letter from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture notifying the acceptance of the application.  

3.2 At the end of the fishing season, the service provider should submit the completed Fishing for Litter Form/s to the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.  Based on this submission, payment will be processed.  For each Jumbo Bag landed, filled tightly with recovered marine litter, the Service Provider will be paid €200. Payment will be effected on an annual basis through the issuing of cheque payments or direct deposit in their bank account.  

3.3 The Contracting Authority reserves the right to annul the Expression of Interest (EOI) procedure and reject all applications without thereby incurring any liability to the affected applicants. In so doing, the Contracting Authority shall not be liable to give any reason whatsoever.

4. Termination of Services

4.1 Termination of services shall be provided for in the letter of acceptance prior to commencement of services.

4.2 Should items other than marine plastic litter be deposited in the Jumbo Bags landed, the agreement with that particular applicant may be terminated forthwith.

5 Eligibility Requirements:

At the time of application, prospective applicants must be in possession of a valid fishing licence issued by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and be authorised to operate bottom otter trawls.  

6. Application Procedure

6.1 Properly filled application forms (to be collected from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture) must be deposited by hand in the tender box provided at the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture by the closing time and date indicated at the top of this notice. 

6.2 By the closing time and date, ALL applications must be physically deposited in the tender box provided at the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. In the event that the Contracting Authority extends the call for applications, the new time and date will be construed to mean the (new) submission date. Any application delivered/received after the lapse of the closing time and date shall be considered as a late submission. Late submissions shall not be accepted. 

6.3 Submissions shall be contained in a sealed package/envelope with the Advert Number clearly marked on the outside of the package/envelope and submitted either by recorded delivery (official postal/courier service), or hand delivered and in all instances deposited in the Tender Box at the above address. Any other method of submission shall NOT be accepted.

7. Notification of acceptance for Service 

The Contracting Authority shall notify in writing the successful applicant that his/her application has been accepted.

8. Amendments to the Scheme

Any necessary amendments to this scheme shall be made by publishing the said amendments in the Government Gazette.

The closing date of this scheme has been extended from the 14th December, 2018 to 31st December, 2018.

Boat Restoration Scheme

THIS scheme shall help in the cultural preservation of the local fishing fleet and is aimed at the professional categories (MFA/MFB). Registered wooden fishing vessels which year of construction dates prior to 2007 (base year also included). Only MFA or MFB registered vessels, which vessel type is either a: Firilla, Frejgatina, Kajjik and Luzzu, shall be considered as being eligible. Apart from financial and sectorial aspects, these vessels have also a cultural and historical value and should therefore be preserved. 

1. Definitions

In this scheme, unless the context requires otherwise:

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

“Director” means the Director responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

 “Owner/s” means the natural or legal person/s under whom the ownership of a fishing vessel is registered. 

“Applicant” carries the same meaning as “owner”. 

2. Who is eligible for such assistance?

Owner/s of fishing vessel/s which are made entirely of wood, are registered in the professional categories (MFA/MFB), which year of construction was 2007 or earlier. Only MFA or MFB registered vessels, which vessel type is either a: Firilla, Frejgatina, Kajjik and Luzzu, shall be considered as being eligible.

This measure will be implemented in line with the provisions of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ L 190, 28.6.2014, p. 45). The DFA shall request for a signed declaration from the undertaking concerned about any other de minimis aid received during the previous two fiscal years and the current fiscal year. Applications shall not be considered as eligible unless the above regulatory provisions are met.

3. How does a person acquire the right for this assistance?

Eligible vessel owners should fill in an Application Form to formally register their interest in this scheme. All declarations and documentation should be provided as per instructions provided in the Application Form.

Interested applicants are encouraged to fill in the attached Application Form and then return it by hand to the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture by not later than the 15/01/2019, unless otherwise notified by the DFA.

All eligible and non eligible applicants shall be notified via an official letter.

Payments shall be processed in two (2) batches, following the submission of itemised, valid fiscal receipts.

Following the vetting of receipts received, a cheque totalling only the eligible expenditure shall than be issued by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to the applicant. Applicants shall be notified by post to collect this cheque in person from the Department.

4. How support is calculated

The maximum financial allocation shall be calculated on the registered vessel length in meters as per below pre defined length categories, each having a corresponding financial value. In under no circumstance shall the value of maximum support received exceed the stipulated value. The total value of receipts submitted shall be capped to this pre-defined limit.

Category 1: 00–05.99M - €1,300 (Max. Support)

Category 2: 06–11.99M - €2,700 (Max. Support)

Following the second/last submission of receipts, eligible applicants shall not be entitled in any manner for any pending unclaimed balance.

Vessel owner/s in possession of more than one eligible vessel shall be entitled to apply for multiple vessels, which financial support shall than be calculated following the same principles as stipulated in the above schedule, depending on the applicable category. 

The Grant can only be availed of/applied for once (per vessel), by the applicant (registered person/s) owning the vessel/s. 

The DFA reserves the right to revise the total eligible maximum support value if required.

5. What does such assistance consist of?

This measure will be implemented in line with the provisions of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June, 2014, on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ L 190, 28.6.2014, p. 45). 

Only the following or similar expenditure shall be considered as being eligible:

Decorative, protective and antifouling paint (or similar);

Solid, laminated, plywood wood sheets and planks (or similar);

Copper nails, bolts, rivets and screws (or similar);

Glues, epoxy, sealant and caulking (or similar);

Direct labour costs (up to a maximum of 20% of the total eligible support)

The following or similar expenditure shall be considered as being non eligible:

Equipment (or similar);

Engine parts, engine oils, lubricants (or similar);

Power tools and hand tools (or similar); 

The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture reserves the right to determine the eligibility of submitted receipts/claimed expenditure, as per parameters stipulated above. All expenditure eligibility shall be subject to the scrutiny, interpretation and acceptance of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Expenditure defined as being eligible or non eligible by the Department shall be deemed as final. 

The English version of both the Application Form and the Terms and Conditions shall prevail in case of conflict or interpretation with the Maltese version.

6. How shall it be paid?

A cheque totalling only the eligible expenditure shall be issued by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to the applicant. Applicants shall be notified by post to collect this cheque in person from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. 

This cheque will be valid for a period of two months from the date of issue.

Registered vessel owner/s benefitting from this scheme cannot decommission their vessel for a period of 5 years following the date of acceptance of support, unless support received is entirely refunded back to the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture by the applicant/owners benefitting from this scheme. If during the 5 year period the boat is sold or transferred, the original applicant/owner shall still remain legally responsible of actions incurred.

7. Whenever false information is given or failure to conform to the Provisions of the Scheme

Any false declaration/s shall be defined as being a criminal offence. The applicant shall be held personally liable to return back any monies received, if payments would have already been processed. One will also be automatically disqualified from the scheme. This clause does not have an applicable time limit and shall remain in force indefinitely.

8. Duration of the scheme

This is a one-time scheme which shall be launched, implemented and concluded between the year 2018 and 2020. 

Receipts shall only be considered as valid if the expenditure incurred/receipt date falls between the period 12/11/2018 and 12/11/2019.

9. Amendments to the scheme

The Minister shall make the necessary amendments to this scheme by publishing the said amendments in the Government Gazette.

The closing date of this scheme has been extended from the 14th December, 2018 to 15th January, 2019.