LETTERKENNY DISTRICT COURT imposed a monetary bond of €136, 878 on the operators of a fishing vessel called Saltees Quest.
The vessel, which is owned by the O’Flaherty Brothers of Kilmore Quay, had the bond imposed as a security pending the criminal trial of the skipper for alleged offences of illegal fishing in the area off the North East coast.
Trawler
It is alleged that beam trawls and nets of 80mm dimension were used and it is also alleged there was an attempt to obstruct the Sea Fisheries protection officers at the subsequent landing inspection on December 13.
Susan Steele Chair of Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SPFA) welcomed the outcome, stating that while there has not been a trial nor conviction, the SFPA is satisfied that the courts have recognised the seriousness of the matters put before it.
“Obstructing or impeding a Sea Fishery Protection Officer is a very serious matter which rightly can attract a custodial sentence in Irish law and the SFPA will not tolerate any such intimidation,” said Steele.
She added that the SPFA staff have a job to do “implementing government policy to protect the livelihoods of the vast majority of Irish fishermen who work within the rules, from the small minority who flout the system”.
Steele said that the SPFA wanted all fishermen to understand the potential repercussions of illegal infringements, stating that some fishing grounds around Ireland “are closed to more destructive non-selective fishing methods, to protect the seabed in order to allow spawning of important species such as Cod, Haddock and Whiting”. She added:
Beam-trawling and its sea bed impact in those spawning areas will do immense damage to the recovery of those valuable stock and SFPA will act to deal with such breaches in the best interest of the Irish fishing industry.
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