Member’s post :: Two commercial skippers were fined at Chichester magistrates in the past week for illegal fishing for black bream. More on the story here.

The skippers in question have apparently been fined at least five times each, since 2001, for similar offences.

So what can we deduce from these facts? It suggests that illegal fishing is very profitable. It implies that the profits made, far exceed the fines imposed, as they still continue to fish illegally. And it confirms that some fishermen apparently have no respect, nor care for, the law of the land, let alone the health of their industry.

If a lorry driver were to consistently break the law by speeding, or dangerous driving, he would accumulate penalty points, which would eventually force him off the road. If an accountant fiddled the books, just once, and was caught, he would be booted out his profession, possibly for good.

If a politician was caught …..  Well, maybe that’s a bad example.

So what about some of our fishermen ?  Get caught and you get a slap on the wrist, told you’ve been a naughty boy, then away you go and break the law again. It doesn’t matter if you are caught again, as long as you’ve made enough money fishing in between, to pay for the next fine.

What we need, is for each boat, and each skipper, to have the equivalent of a driving licence. If you are caught illegal fishing you attract penalty points to your licence. Accumulate enough, ( and make the trigger points realistic), then the boat and/or the skipper gets a ban, as well as his fine.

Get them out of the industry. Now that would be a real deterrent.

But to introduce this, we would have to get our politicians to ……….  Oh well, we can dream!

Related posts:

1. The EU’s angling knowledge
2. Net policy all at sea
3. One way of looking at it
4. Catching sector being let down