A Co Louth skipper has been fined amounting to €2,500 for fisheries offences.
The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says that Anthony Conlon, from Drogheda, Co Louth, was fined, on September 17th at Drogheda district court for charges relating to under-recording of catches of haddock in the fishing logbook and landing declaration.
The offences took place on the fishing vessel Argonaut IV and were detected on September 23rd, 2022, during an inspection by SFPA officers of a catch landed at Dunmore East, Co Waterford.
Conlon was also fined for the late submission of the landing declaration in respect of the fishing trip.
The SFPA says that its officers detected 213 boxes of haddock were detected, whereas 131 boxes were recorded in the fishing logbook.
The court heard that haddock is a more sensitive species, and the boxed haddock catch was under-recorded by approximately 5,145kgs in the landing declaration.
The SFPA says that the landing declaration was submitted in October 2022, beyond the statutory 48-hour period from the completion of landing.
Evidence was presented to the court that SFPA officers also detected an over-recording of boxes of whiting onboard the vessel. A total of 86 boxes were recorded in the logbook and 11 boxes were found on inspection of the landing.
Evidence was given that the accuracy of data in fishing logbooks and landing declarations is important to determine the extent of quota uptake and for setting future fishing quotas to ensure stocks are preserved, the SFPA says.
The court heard that haddock and whiting in the relevant fishing areas are subject to tighter regulatory controls for their recovery and to prevent those stocks being overfished.
The SFPA says that the court remarked that the offences were “serious matters” at the heart of the ecological system, when fines totalling €2,500 were imposed.
