Scottish firm fined £20,000 for flouting Manx fishing rules

Thu, 26 Oct 2023

A Scottish firm has been fined £20,000 after its vessel was found fishing illegally in the Isle of Man’s territorial waters last year.

The owner of the Star Fishing Company Limited pleaded guilty to fishing for King Scallops without a licence on 3 December 2022 at Douglas Courthouse on Tuesday (October 24).

Prosecutor Rebecca Cubbon told the court the Star of Jura entered Manx waters twice in the early hours on December 3, which was confirmed when DEFA and Marine Scotland examined the boat’s on-board monitoring and tracking systems.

Further investigation of the Master’s daybook and electronic logbook revealed 12 bags of King Scallops had been landed in Manx waters, which was not declared.

The court heard the skipper had logged all other activity within UK waters on the same trip, which the court accepted was an attempt to disguise its illegal venture into Manx waters.

Defence advocate Jim Travers told the court his client was unaware of their Master’s activities and called it a ‘one-off rogue event’.

The firm said the Master has been dismissed.

The Oban based company was ordered to pay Marine Scotland £4,474.53 in costs and DEFA £8,948.43 as compensation for the value of the catch.

---