A Co Louth skipper has been fined €4,000 by Judge Miriam Reynolds at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for over-fishing prawns in the Irish Sea in 2005.
Raymond McEvoy, of Chapel Road, Clogherhead, had 12 tonnes of Norway lobster on board the Bara Segal. This was eight tonnes in excess of the permitted quota for this prawn at that time.
He has since quit fishing and sold the boat.
McEvoy (53), married with three children, pleaded guilty that, as master of the Irish-registered fishing boat Bara Segal, he contravened the quota regulations on dates between August 1st and August 31st, 2005.
Judge Reynolds said she accepted all that had been submitted on behalf of McEvoy by Seán Ó Siotchain BL, defending, but she believed skippers should be aware of quota regulations.
She noted that a fine of €127,000 was permitted for overfishing but said she was allowed discretion after taking mitigating factors into consideration.
McEvoy appeared on a signed guilty plea and the prosecution was based on his own catch figures recorded in the logbook he had maintained, something that did not often happen.
Judge Reynolds directed that the €4,000 fine be paid from a €30,000 bond McEvoy had entered into after his vessel and catch had been confiscated. The balance of the bond money was to be returned to him.
He had no previous convictions and had suffered financially as a result of the offence.
Mr Ó Siotchain submitted that the prosecution arose from "an unfortunate lack of information" on McEvoy's part and was based on his own logbook. Counsel suggested it was difficult for skippers to stay on top of the quota rules due to their complexity.