Irish fishermen broke EU laws 138 times in 2005 but were fined just €417 on average for each serious infringement of the European common fisheries policy.
Some of Europe's biggest fishing fleets paid even lower fines for infringements such as over-fishing, falsifying records and illegal fishing, according to new EU statistics.
Portuguese fishermen paid an average of €122 for each breach of the law, Finnish fishermen paid an average fine of €32, while Maltese fishermen paid no fines.
The European Commission criticised EU states yesterday for failing to implement tough laws to tackle illegal fishing, which, it says, threatens fish stocks.
The commission is concerned there has been a rise in the number of serious infringements to 10,443 in 2005, up from 9,660 in 2004, but there has been a fall in the level of fines.
The average fine imposed by EU states - in those cases where a financial penalty was actually levied - was €1,548 in 2005, down from €2,272 in 2004. The average fine in all the serious infringement cases was €1,038.
The report shows: six of the serious breaches of EU law in Ireland related to the obstruction of fisheries inspectors; 19 involved fishing without a licence; one involved the deletion of identification marks on a vessel; one involved fishing under false documents; five for keeping on board illegal fishing equipment; six for using prohibited fishing gear; 17 for keeping on board prohibited species; 82 for failing to record or falsifying data in log books; and one failure to comply with EU rules on movement of fishing vessels. The biggest single fine paid in 2005 was €10,000.
The commission's report notes that the Government passed the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act last April to increase penalties for breaking the rules. It also announced plans to introduce new EU legislation to ensure that tougher sanctions are put in place.