A fisherman from Malta was injured today following a clash with a group protesting tuna fishing off the Libyan coast, according to dpa. The incident took place some 35 nautical miles off Tripoli, when the Maltese company Fish & Fish was towing a tuna pen to Malta. The fisherman is being flown to a hospital in Malta for a serious injury to his arm caused by a fishing hook, Fish & Fish representative John Refalo told the German Press Agency dpa. According to Refalo, protestors affiliated with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society threw acid and fired tear gas at the tug boat, which had 10 fishermen on board. The group, which is campaigning against tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, allegedly also hooked the fishing nets with an anchor. It was unclear how the fisherman was injured, though initial reports said he scrambled onto the pen to remove the anchor and had his arm ripped when the environmentalists pulled it back. "It's preposterous. They had no right to inspect the catch. This was a legal activity; we have everything documented and audited," Refalo said. "Demonstrations are one thing, bullying and causing damage is another." The incident was the third involving tuna fishing in the Mediterranean in recent weeks. A Greenpeace activist had previously been injured during a clash with French fishermen. Last Sunday, the Maltese army was forced to intervene during another dispute between Greenpeace and tuna trawlers close to the Mediterranean island.
