A fishing firm which has admitted charges relating to a quota scam could be banned from sitting on an influential forum in the port where it is based.

W Stevenson and Son, from Newlyn in West Cornwall, pleaded guilty at Exeter Crown Court earlier this month to 37 charges of submitting false sales notes to the Government.

The company, which is Britain's biggest privately owned fishing firm, with a fleet of 35 vessels, had failed to accurately record the amount of fish landed.

This allowed it to catch more than its quota of expensive fish, totalling a value of £141,000.

Now the Newlyn Fish Industry Forum (NFIF), which was set up to deliver the port's regeneration strategy, is set to consider the company's future in its decision- making process.

Tony Woodhams, project officer at the NFIF, said it was a likely topic of discussion at their next meeting.

"I think it would probably be inappropriate to have a view on this in view of the meeting but when members have had a chance to discuss it there will be a decision taken at that time," he said.

The NFIF is partnered by public and private sector organisations, including Cornwall County Council and Penwith District Council.

So far, no one from Cornwall County Council has commented on the likely outcome of the forthcoming NFIF meeting on May 8.

However, Malcolm Pilcher, vice-chairman of Penwith District Council, said he would "very much doubt" that W Stevenson and Son would keep their place on the forum.

Elizabeth Stevenson, who is a partner in the company and also president of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, said she had the full backing of the fishing industry.

"If you are a business contributing a large amount to a port, why should somebody be excluded from having their say in what happens to the future of that port?"

article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS 

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