The Bristol Magistrates Court fined an Irish fishing company and the skipper of the vessel ‘FV Ellie Adhamh’ £37,926, on 13 November. The fine was imposed due to multiple fisheries offences.
The Royal Navy boarded ‘Ellie Adhamh’, an Irish registered 25 meters fishing vessel operated by an Irish company, during a routine patrol in the Celtic Sea on 29 April 2018. The Boarding Officer checked the vessel’s documentation, fish room and gear and numerous deficiencies were found. The vessel was then detained to Newlyn for further investigation by the MMO.
As a result, the company’s representatives and the skipper appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on 13 November 2018. Six charges were brought before the court, including undersized net offences, incorrect operation of the electronic logbook and under recording of three quota species.
The company and the skipper together pleaded guilty to all charges.
The defendants had been negligent in failing to ensure they had appropriate systems in place to prevent the offences occurring.
The District Judge said while sentencing the defendants.
£32,000 was the fine to the company, ordered to pay £4,416.62 in costs and a victim surcharge of £170. The skipper was fined £1,100 and he was ordered to pay £200 in costs and a victim surcharge of £40.
A spokesperson for the MMO said:
This offending took place in the Biologically Sensitive Area and using undersized gear not only jeopardises the chance of fish stocks replenishing but gives the vessel an unfair advantage over those fishing in the same area who are compliant with the rules.
The rules on the accuracy of electronic logbook entries are also very important, he added. If vessels fail to record their data accurately this increases the chances of unrecorded catches occurring, which puts the future of the fishing industry at risk if over fishing occurs.
Furthermore, this is the second time in this month that The UK Marine Management Organisation (MMO) fined the master of a fishing vessel, a director of the company that owns the vessel and the company itself, for fishing without a licence.
