The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
This decision includes the permit and decision document for:
On 5 May 2017 Macduff Fishing Fleet Limited, owner of the scallop dredger “Cornelis Gert Jan” and its three masters Pawel Czerniak, Oliver Hughes and Robert Watt pleaded guilty to breaches of the Sea Fish Conservation Act 1967 at Worthing Magistrates Court.
The court heard how the vessel was permitted to retain non-quota species as a bycatch of its main catch of scallops. However, it had fished on a number of occasions in an area known to contain mixed species where a bycatch of quota species was inevitable.
Investigations by the MMO identified that £6,000 worth of sole and anglerfish had been landed by the vessel in the period between 5 May 2015 and 26 November 2015. This was in breach of the vessel’s licence.
While it was acknowledged that the company had provided landing data in the form of log sheets and sales notes electronically during the period, the MMO system would not necessarily pick up on potential breaches of licence conditions. The Court accepted that it was, in any event, incumbent on the masters and owners to ensure they did not retain any species on their vessel which were prohibited by their licence.
Macduff Fishing Fleet Limited (vessel owner) were fined £12,000, with an additional fine of £6057.67 to the value of the fish involved in the offending, costs of £4,758.75 and a victim surcharge of £120.
Mr Hughes (vessel master) was fined £580, Mr Watt (vessel master) was fined £678 and Mr Czernia (vessel master) was fined £220.00. These fines included a victim surcharge.
The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
This decision includes the permit and decision document for:
The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
This decision includes the permit and decision document for:
On 2 May 2017 S & P Trawlers (JACABEN) Limited, owner of the stern trawler Cerulean NN722, and its master Marcus White pleaded guilty to breaches of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 and the Fisheries Act 1981 at Barnstaple Magistrates Court.
The court heard how, during investigations including inspections of local fish merchants carried out by the MMO in 2015, it was identified that in July the Cerulean declared squid catches in their fishing vessel logbook when in fact no squid had been landed. Instead the actual catch for July was 2448.7kg of bass, some 648.7kg over the monthly limit of 1800kg. Two days following discovery of the error the vessel master contacted MMO to attempt to correct the error.
In August the Cerulean’s logbook recorded a catch of 230kg of bass but on inspection by Marine Officers, the actual weight of bass landed was 367.5kg. This was an under-recording of 59.7%
The vessel owner S and P Trawlers (JACABEN) Limited were fined £3,200, with additional costs of £1,175 and a victim surcharge of £170.
The vessel master Marcus White was fined £1,500 with additional costs of £1,000 and a victim surcharge of £150.
A spokesman for the MMO said:
“In this case Marine Officers’ inspections of local fish merchants and of the vessel itself revealed clear misreporting of the species and quantities of fish landed.
“The fact that the fish in question was sea bass, a species which not only commands a high market value but is also under severe pressure from potential overfishing and is, therefore, subject to increasing levels of regulation, was clearly an aggravating feature of these offences.
“The MMO recognises that the vast majority of fishermen operate lawfully and in compliance with regulations which exist to protect fisheries from overfishing and are in place to ensure healthy, sustainable fisheries for this and future generations of fishermen. In the rare instances that non-compliance is detected, we use a risk-based enforcement strategy and operate a graduated and proportionate system of sanctions, with prosecution reserved for the most serious offences.”