20
Jul
Dutch scallop dredger ordered to pay £47,000
The UK skipper and Dutch owners of the 38 metre Dutch scallop dredger, Jacoba UK307 were ordered to pay a total of £47,000 in fines and costs by Brighton magistrates on Friday July 20th.
Skipper Robert Johnston, 46, of Penzance, and owners Zeevisserij Pasterkamp of Urk, Netherlands, pleaded guilty to a total of 45 offences in a case brought by the Marine and Fisheries Agency.
The court heard that the Jacoba is one of the biggest scallop boats fishing in UK waters and that the offences took place in the east and west Channel.
Johnston was fined a total of £10,300 for : 14 log book offences; 13 offences of failing to submit accurate landing declarations; 18 offences of retaining sole where there was no Dutch allocation; and a fine to contribute to value of the fish.
Total fines for the owners for the same offences were £23,600 plus £13,800 costs.
Powered by FireStats