The master of a French registered fishing vessel has been convicted and fined for offences arising from an inspection in Castletownbere, Co Cork last year.
Bernard Helgouarch, with an address in France, and master of the French registered sea-fishing vessel “Sister Clare”, was convicted and fined at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on May 21st ,the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says.
The conviction relates to offences arising from the inspection and subsequent detention of the vessel at Castletownbere in June 2025, it says.
It says the court heard evidence that during an inspection of the vessel, measurements were taken of the fishing net square mesh panels which resulted in average measurements ranging between 116mm and 123mm.
The requirement is for a 300mm square mesh panel during the fishing operation for Nephrops norvegicus, also known as Norway lobster.
Evidence was given of the reasons for these requirements including that under-sized juvenile species can escape the nets.
The court heard the non-compliance with the mesh size requirements was a significant infringement of the Common Fisheries Policy rules, given the volume of the undersized fish that could be caught, the SFPA says.
It says that a further guilty plea was entered for the offence of failing to have gear retrieval equipment onboard, following the detection that gear had been lost at sea but had not been retrieved.
On inspection of the boxed catches of Norway lobster, officers detected that the fishing area of the catches was incorrectly labelled on the boxes, the SFPA says.
The court heard that accurate labelling is a requirement to show the source of food and for traceability, it says.
A guilty plea was also entered for an offence of failing to accurately record catches in the stowage plan onboard, it says.
The SFPA says that the court made an order for forfeiture of the catch and gear in the sum of €63,000.
The court imposed a conviction and fine of €15,000 for the offence of use of non-compliant gear and an €8,000 fine for failure to have gear retrieval equipment onboard.
The court also imposed a conviction and fine of €2,000 for the offence of incorrect information on the labels of the boxed catch.
In reaching its decision, the SFPA says that the court remarked that it was “concerned with leaving gear in the sea, as it is terrible for marine life caught in it and it could stay there for a long time”.
Dealing with the non-compliant gear offence, the court stated that it is “a serious offence…and the court takes it seriously”.
A SFPA spokesperson said the authority “notes the seriousness attached to this matter by the court”.
“The regulation of mesh dimensions in fishing gear is a key tool in control measures for the sustainable management of fish stocks under the Common Fisheries Policy, which allows for the recovery of fish stocks and the sustainable fishing of such stocks by the fishing community,”the spokesperson said.
“ Such measures ensure that stocks of juvenile catches survive and develop and also tackle the risk of illegal discards of unwanted catches including dead fish.”
“The SFPA notes the concern of the court with respect to lost fishing gear and the subsequent damage that can be caused to marine ecosystems. Operators must ensure measures are taken to retrieve and report lost fishing gear and are required to have gear retrieval equipment onboard,”the SFPA spokesperson said.
“Traceability and accuracy ... is key to consumer confidence and food safety.”
“This case serves as a reminder of the seriousness of failing to accurately record catches on box labels,”the spokesperson said – commending SFPA officers and members of An Garda Síochána involved in the investigation and subsequent detention.
