The Catherine Annie and the L’Ecume II were fishing just a mile offshore, near Bognor Regis, West Sussex, when the Sussex Sea Fisheries Committee called in the Sussex Police helicopter to catch them in the act.
The boats were targeting black bream, one of the most vulnerable species to intensive fishing because they congregate in shallow water to breed.
David Waldron, 61, of Lowestoft, and Michael Michieli, 49, of Jersey, each pleaded guilty to four offences of fishing in April and May this year within the three-mile fisheries limit – an area where large vessels are excluded to protect the marine environment and vulnerable fish stocks.
In the case brought by the Sussex SFC, magistrates fined them a total of £14,000 each (£3,500 for each offence), and ordered to pay a further £3,000 each towards the costs.
The court heard that, since November 2001, Michieli, owner of the L’Ecume II, had been prosecuted on five occasions for similar offences, resulting in total fines of £8,500 and costs of over £4,900. Waldron, owner of the Catherine Annie LT 45, had been prosecuted for six similar offences over the same period with fines of £9,000 and costs exceeding £4,400.
The Sussex Police helicopter was deployed on the 25th April and the 10th May 2009, and in both instances the police crew rapidly identified the offending vessels and filmed illegal fishing.
On the 30th April the same vessels were intercepted and boarded by officers from Sussex SFC fisheries patrol vessel ‘Watchful’, and on 3rd May the vessels were identified as fishing by an individual working at sea in the same area. The evidence of the witness was verified by the Marine and Fisheries Agency’s fishing vessel satellite tracking system.
Inspector Simon Pettett of Sussex Police Air Operations Unit said: “Larger fishing vessels can be tracked by satellite, but the helicopter can record the illegal trawlers in action and provides the speed of response than that cannot be matched by a patrol boat.”
Sussex SFC Chief Fishery Officer Tim Dapling thanked all those involved and supported the multi-agency approach to the enforcement work.
He said: “Bringing these prosecutions has taken considerable work by all involved. Enforcement officers involved have focused considerable time and effort to protect the bream fishery in 2009 and this is the result.
“Many local fishermen, both commercial and anglers, will recognise the importance of this outcome and the protection it provides to the fishery in future.”
