A Kinsale skipper has been fined a total of €725 after pleading guilty to charges relating to retention of below minimum legal size lobster.
The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says the skipper, who appeared before Bandon District Court on June 19th, pleaded guilty to charges relating to the retention onboard of below minimum legal size lobster and lobsters with mutilated tails.
The offences were detected during an inshore at-sea patrol by SFPA officers in July 2025, off the coast of Co.Cork.
The SFPA says the officers inspected the shellfish on board and found ten European lobsters, which measured below the minimum legal size (87mm), and four lobsters with mutilated tails, caught by a commercial fishing operation. “The prohibition on retaining onboard catches of lobsters with mutilated tails is in place to ensure there is no circumvention of the prohibition on retaining onboard and landing V-notched lobsters,” the SFPA says.
“The court heard evidence that under a voluntary scheme, a V-notch is applied by fishers to the tails of certain female lobsters which are capable of reproduction; such lobsters must not be harmed and must be returned immediately to the sea alive when caught,” it said.
“The court proceeded to impose fines totalling €725. In reaching its decision, the court remarked that lobsters are a valuable commodity and that the lobster industry is important to the country. The court noted the State’s “specific legislation to safeguard lobster stock,” it said.
