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Court result: unique operation to catch illegal trawlers
Fishermen caught repeatedly trawling illegally off the Arun coast have been convicted and fined at Chichester Magistrates' Court today (November 20), thanks to a unique operation assisted by the Sussex Police helicopter.
David Waldron, 61, of Lowestoft, and Michael Michieli, 49, of Jersey, were each fined £14,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000 each, after pleading guilty to eight offences of trawling within the three mile fisheries limit during April and May this year, an area excluded to protect the marine environment and vulnerable fish stocks.
The prosecutions were brought by Sussex Sea Fisheries District Committee (SSFDC), responsible for inshore marine fisheries and environmental protection along the Sussex coast.
The SSFC is the first organisation of its kind to join forces with a police helicopter unit in a combined air and sea surveillance operation to stop illegal fishing. The enforcement operation involved the Marine & Fisheries Agency (MFA), which imposed strict licence restrictions and followed the boats' movements using a satellite tracking system.
Inspector Simon Pettett of the Air Operations Unit said: "We were pleased to be able to assist our partners in tackling this illegal and damaging activity. This prosecution is the very first as a result of our unique partnership and demonstrates the best use of public resourses while helping to protect the local fishing industry. We will continue to work together in this way and are certain that we will deter and detect those willing to threaten the marine environment simply for substantial personal financial gain."
The police helicopter was deployed on April 25 and May 10 this year to support the surveillance work of the SSFDC ?Watchful? patrol boat. In both instances the police crew rapidly identified the offending vessels and filmed illegal fishing. On April 30 the same boats were intercepted and boarded by officers from the fisheries patrol boat and witnessed by another fisherman on May 3.
The recent court proceedings were the latest in a long series of prosecutions undertaken by the SSFDC against the same individuals. Since November 2001 Michieli, owner of the trawler L'Ecume II J158, has been prosecuted on five occasions for similar offences, resulting in total fines of £8,500 and costs of over £4,900. Over the same period Waldron, owner of the trawler Catherine Annie LT 45, has been prosecuted for six similar offences with fines of £9,000 and costs exceeding £4,400.
Tim Dapling, Chief Officer for the SSFDC, said: "The SSFC is a small organisation and working with others makes a fundamental difference to our success. This clearly demonstrates how positive joint enforcement work can be. Our first experience of air support with the Sussex Police has proved highly successful; the fast interception time and quality of imagery provided some excellent evidence and secured two important prosecutions.
"Bringing these prosecutions to court has been a long process and involved considerable work by all those involved. Enforcement officers have focused much time and effort in protecting the bream fishery and this is the result. The MFA played a valuable part in these prosecutions and in controlling illegal inshore fishing. Local fishermen, both commercial and amateurs, will recognise the importance of today's outcome and the protection it will afford to the fishery in future.
"Through their selfish and irresponsible actions they give fishermen a poor reputation, which many I know don?t deserve. Last week the Marine & Coastal Access Act was introduced, which will in future create far tougher penalties for similar breaches of legislation."
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20/11/2009
