UK beam trawler fined for fishing in a closed area

The owners / master of a UK beam trawler, Daisy Christiane (PZ1172) were fined a total of £8462 and ordered to pay costs of £6,229 for fishing within a closed area.

The defendants were found guilty at Camborne Magistrates Court (26 June) for illegally fishing within a closed area of the Celtic Sea in February 2005. The trawler was caught by MFA’s surveillance aircraft carrying out a investigation after the vessel had been monitored by satellite surveillance within the closed area.

The case was brought by the Marine Fisheries Agency (MFA) on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Following the verdict, Justin Williams, District Inspector with the Marine Fisheries Agency, said:

“ These closed areas were proposed by the fishing industry themselves to limit the impact of fishing , especially cod, in the Celtic Sea at a time of year when these fish are spawning.

“It is in everyone’s interest that we do our best to sustain our stocks and it is essential that all boats abide by the regulations to ensure that we maintain a sustainable fishing industry”.

Notes to editors

The Master and Owners of Daisy Christiane (PZ1172) were fined for illegally fishing within a closed area of the Celtic Sea Boxes in Area VIIF 30E4.

Fishing activity may be regulated in relation to the quantities of fish, area in which they are caught, the species involved and the gear used. It is important that fishermen comply with these rules.

DirectFlight are contracted by the MFA to undertake aerial monitoring control and surveillance of the UK’s fishing grounds.

Enforcement of fisheries regulations at sea is undertaken on behalf of Defra by the Royal Navy Fisheries Protection Squadron and the Marine Fisheries Agency, their role is to inspect vessels on the fishing grounds. UK registered vessels are inspected within UK Fishery Limits and on the high seas, foreign flag vessels are liable to inspection by the RN whenever they operate in UK fishery limits.

The EU fisheries regulations cover all areas including the technical matters such as mesh sizes, minimum fish sizes, restrictions on types of fishing gear, vessel specifications etc. The set of control regulations require fishing vessels to complete logbooks and landing declarations etc. and also require masters to comply with the instructions of inspectors when they wish to inspect their fishing vessels.

The regulations are designed to ensure sustainable fish stocks for current and future generations.

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