UK Court makes the fishing company pay the biggest fine in maritime history

Jul 27, 2012 18:31 GMT  ·  By

The Truro Crown Court in the UK decided just yesterday that a Spanish fishing company is to pay ₤1,62 million (approximately €2 million/$2,5 million) for having violated the current legislation regarding fishing activities.

Thus, between 2009 and 2010, two of the company's vessels, the Coyo Tercero and the O'Genita caught more ling and hake than legally allowed.

Seeing how these two fish species are presently quite scarce in national and international waters, it was only logical that repercussions would soon follow.

Apparently, in an attempt to get away with the abuses they committed against our planet's already vulnerable fish stocks, members of the crew and company leaders agreed to falsify logbooks.

This means that they either wrote down that they caught fewer lings and hakes than they had, or they simply “forgot” to take down notes concerning some of their catches.

As reported on the official website for the UK Marine Management Organization, Danny Poulding, one of the investigating officers who kept a close eye on this case, argued that, “This company systematically abused the quota system for significant and unfair financial gain, threatening the future sustainability of an already vulnerable fish stock and impacting on the businesses of legitimate fishermen by flooding the market with cheaper fish.”

Judge Graham Cottle also agreed that said illegal fishing activities represent a serious violation of the EU legislation concerning proper fish stock management.

He also explained that both the fishermen aboard the two ships and the Spanish-registered company (Hijos de Vidal Bandin SA) are to be held equally responsible.

In an attempt to do some damage control, the culprits pleaded guilty when faced with the charges filed by UK's Marine Management Organization.

However, it seems that this did not do them much good, as now they have to pay the biggest fine ever awarded for illegal fishing activities.

As far as we are concerned, it is encouraging indeed that considerable efforts are presently made to push for a more sustainable fishing industry, as this will prove to be beneficial both for the environment and for various national economies.