THE owner and skipper of a beam trawler boarded by Royal Navy fishery protection officers in the North Sea have been ordered to pay a total of almost £15,000 for a number of fish related offences.
The prosecution was brought by the new Marine Management Organisation ( formerly the Marine and Fisheries Agency) against the owning company, Seefischereibetrieb “Snoek” KG, and the master, Dubbele Nantjes, of the German-registered, Dutch-owned beam trawler Amrumbank SC10. They pleaded guilty to misreporting North Sea plaice and exceeding the maximum twine thickness of their starboard net at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court last week.
The court was told that the vessel was boarded by marine enforcement officers of the HMS Severn east of the Dogger Bank at the end of June last year. Magistrates also heard that during the inspection the starboard net was checked against twine thickness and failed all 20 of the initial pass/fail measures at 5 mm. A further 20 were checked and a further 20 failed.Following a review of the vessel's documentation, it was noted that the 3420 kg of plaice had been recorded during two days fishing. An inspection of the hold found a difference of 895 kg (an under recording of 20.74 per cent). The vessel was detained for further investigation.
The owner’s total fines came to £2,300 plus £1,000 in costs. The master’s total fines came to £10,650 plus £1,000 in costs.The court also ordered forfeiture of the offending cod-end.
The case is the latest in a series of prosecutions brought by the MMO against European, Scottish and English fishing vessels for a wide range of fishing offences in recent weeks.
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