Malta's Democratic Party has called for the setting up of a task force to rectify and draw up a strategy for the bluefin tuna industry, reports the Times of Malta.

The industry had "ridiculously low permit tariffs and poor to no enforcement," said the party. The Maltese bluefin industry has an annual turnover of €120 million but "left little return to Maltese coffers since it had negligible multiplier effect on the economy."

The party also said the current five tuna ranches had "taken over the local fisheries agenda." They operated within an aquaculture strategy for the Maltese Islands -- a misnomer, according to the party, since the country never had a holistic analysis of the ranches.