THREE NEWLYN trawlermen are facing a combined bill of more than £11,000 after they admitted breaking fishing regulations.
The owners of beam trawler Nellie, brothers Stephen and Michael Nowell, and skipper Phillip Brown from Portsmouth, pleaded guilty to three counts of falsely recording a total of just over £10,000 worth of sole to avoid quota restrictions.
Brown was fined £1,200 and ordered to pay £2,198 in costs while the brothers were fined £1,800 each and ordered to pay £2,198 in costs following a hearing at Camborne Magistrates' Court on Thursday last week.
The incident came to light after the Navy inspected the vessel in June last year and seized a diary which appeared not to match the boat's log.
Defending the trio, David Thomas asked the chairman of the bench Karen Tudor to take into account their early guilty pleas and personal financial circumstances.
He warned her that a heavy fine could jeopardise the company's existence.
"It is possible to put this company out of business because the maximum fine is £50,000 per offence. But the three offences were committed when Mr Brown was the skipper. There's no evidence that either of the owners encouraged him to do it.
"Stephen and Michael could not understand why he did it but it appears that he tried to help his employers. It is hard labour for not a lot of income."
Sentencing, the chairman of the bench said she had taken into account their early pleas and financial circumstances when determining their fines.
She said: "Clearly this is a serious matter which not only has financial implications but also environmental implications on other fishermen."
After the case a spokesman for the Marine Management Organisation said: "Sole in the recovery zone is subject to tight restrictions in an effort to prevent over-fishing and allow the stocks to recover.
"Magistrates saw this as a serious environmental offence with obvious knock-on effects for other fishermen."
Earlier this month a Brixham trawler company was made to pay £22,000 for similar offences committed in the English Channel.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN