Two Irish skippers from Co Cork have been fined more than €374,000 in the British courts for tampering with satellite transmitters so they could fish undetected in Cornish waters.
They also paid court costs of €12,480.
Mr Eric Murphy and Mr Donal O'Neill, both from Castletownbere, Co Cork, deliberately broke off contact with the fishing authorities while they trawled for mackerel in a protected zone near Falmouth, the court was told yesterday.
Truro Crown Court heard yesterday that Mr Murphy (32), and Mr O'Neill (44), unscrewed satellite antennae on three occasions to disable the signal before embarking on night-time pair trawling trips.
This meant they could not be detected by satellite systems while at sea and could move through waters specifically excluded to trawlers. The court was told they then caught mackerel, a protected species, in waters where fishing is restricted to protect spawning grounds.
Under EU legislation, it is compulsory for fishing vessels to have satellite transmitters on board. The transmitters are meant to send an automatic hourly signal to fishing authorities stating the vessel's location and this allows them to be tracked continually.
Disconnection of the system would allow a trawler to enter restricted zones without being "recognised" by the receiving satellite and recorded by the authorities monitoring the systems.
Judge Nicholas Vincent told the men they had been found guilty of a "concerted attempt" to get around fishing regulations.
Mr Murphy and Mr O'Neill pleaded not guilty to three counts each of failing to maintain contact with fishing authorities.
They also pleaded not guilty to three counts each of falsifying official log sheets of their catch.
Mr Sean Brunton, prosecuting, said both fishermen filled out the log sheets incorrectly to hide the quantity of mackerel landed at Falmouth.
Mr Brunton said Mr O'Neill, owner and master of the Sparkling Star, declared a catch of 50 tonnes of mackerel. Fishing inspectors later found 95 tonnes on board.
"Sparkling Star's catch of 100 tonnes, the vast majority of which was mackerel, was worth just under £30,000.
"This is big money, and it is important to play by the rules," Mr Brunton told the court.
Mr Brunton said the falsified log sheets and blocked satellite transmitters were part of an attempt to fish illegally in a protected zone.
"They are part of a deception to allow the defendants to fish in areas where they are not allowed to be and for fish that they are not allowed to catch," he said.
The jury today found Mr Murphy, owner and master of the trawler Eileen Croine, and Mr O'Neill guilty of all charges.
The skippers were each fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 each in costs.
After the case, Mr Colin George, a district fishing inspector, said fishermen found flouting the rules would be taken to court.
"It is an important part of the monitoring of fishing activities in our waters and one which we take very seriously, as do the whole of the European Community," he said.
- (PA)