Quote Originally Posted by Article
The Maltese captain of the Budafel refused to land the men, he later explained, because he had $1m-worth of tuna in the pen. If he had taken them to Malta, the trip would have taken 12 days, given the tug's slow speed. There, he would have found himself in the middle of a diplomatic wrangle. "I couldn't take the risk of losing this catch," he said.

The captain informed the Maltese authorities...
Quote Originally Posted by Grey_fox
For fishermen lke the fella in the story above that tuna is his lifeblood for the year. if he was detained, prevented from landing and caught up in legal proceedings long enough that he catch would not be viable, how would he and his crew feed their families?
The captain is not a paragon of virtue, but his decision is at least understandable. The stone cold truth is that if he had done the right thing, it would have brought him and his crew to economic ruin.
The Maltese authorities should have brought them in and deported them back - but they're probably not wanted back.

It's the people who give these poor souls false impressions about a rosy future in Europe and earn money by trafficking them who should be keeled.