SPANISH FISHING MASTER CONVICTED AND FINED

Spanish fishing master convicted and fined for unauthorised fishing operations within Irish territorial waters. Vincente Meitin Sanjuan, the Master of the Spanish-registered fishing vessel, ‘Punta Candieira’, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on the 18^th November 2024, to an offence of unauthorised fishing within the exclusive fishery limits of the State, in May 2021 – the vessel was fishing within the 12 nautical mile limit (or territorial seas), an area in which Spanish fishing vessels do not have fishing rights.

Mr Sanjuan was convicted and fined €7,000 for the offence. The Court further ordered the forfeiture of €15,000 from the value of catch and gear.

The prosecution called evidence that the Naval Service received a report of the Spanish vessel conducting fishing operations within the territorial seas – the Naval Service then conducted satellite data analysis of the vessel’s movements, which disclosed the vessel had conducted fishing operations up to 1.8 nautical miles inside the territorial sea limit. The vessel was boarded at sea by officers of the Irish Naval Service onboard the L.É. Róisín and subsequently detained.

The Court noted the activity was premediated and involved intentional fishing within the 12 nautical mile limit, in addition to the misreporting in the electronic fishing logbook by the master of the geographical area where fishing activity took place.

An SFPA spokesperson commented:

“Unauthorised fishing activity within exclusive fishery limits is an inherently serious offence, as reflected in the decision of the Court. The SFPA commends the extensive investigative work undertaken by the Naval Service and Sea-Fisheries Protection Officers of the SFPA for undertaking swift enforcement action, culminating in the detention of the vessel and enforcement action.”

About the SFPA 

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) is the independent statutory body responsible for the regulation of the sea-fisheries and the sea-food production sectors. It promotes compliance with the EU Common Fisheries Policy, sea-fisheries law and food safety law relating to fish and fish products, verifies compliance and, where necessary, enforces it. Its mandate covers all fishing vessels operating within Ireland’s 200-mile limit, over 2,000 Irish registered fishing vessels wherever they operate, and all seafood produced in Ireland’s seafood processing companies. The SFPA operates through a network of regional port offices situated at Ireland’s main fishery harbours. For further information visit: www.sfpa.ie

Source