THE owners and the skipper of the British scallop dredger, Vertrouwen, were ordered to pay a total of £6,277 in fines and costs by Brighton Magistrates on 3 June for retaining undersize scallops.
The court heard scallops were protected by a minimum size determined by scientists to ensure stocks remained healthy and plentiful, and that, when returned to the sea their survival rates were good.
Vertrouwen’s master Samuel Baird, 25, of Kirkcudbright, Scotland, pleaded guilty and was fined £300 with £100 costs and £15 victim surcharge.
Owners Scott Trawlers of Peterhead were fine £2,000, with £3,847 costs and £15 victim surcharge.
The court heard that in September 2009, during a routine port inspection of the Vertrouwen at Shoreham, 43 per cent of the scallops retained on board were below the minimum landing size of 110 mm for the eastern Channel.
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