The State has sought bail of €5.8 million to release one of the world's largest fishing vessels, the Dutch-owned Annelies Ilena, formerly the Killybegs-owned Atlantic Dawn.
The master is accused of discarding smaller fish in breach of EU rules and failing to make the correct log-book entry.
The accusation against him alleges that he high-graded the catch by discarding smaller fish and retaining larger fish to increase the value of the catch.
Master of the 14,000 tonne vessel Gerrit Plug (57) appeared at Donegal District Court accused of breaching EU fishing regulations.
Contested evidence
The Naval Service ship L
E Roisín detained the vessel off Tory Island and escorted it into Killybegs, Co Donegal, last Friday.
Yesterday representatives of the ship’s owners claimed the likely evidence, some horse mackerel, was worth only €20 and the State was seeking the factory trawler’s entire catch of €5.8 million as a bond.
State Solicitor for Donegal Ciarán Liddy held that Judge Kevin Kilrane had no discretion to reduce the bond.
However, defence solicitor Diarmuid Barry argued that a District Court judge had a discretion to apply a lower bond. He suggested €100,000 would be appropriate.
Judge Kilrane fixed bail at €250,000 to be put up when he sits at Carrick-on-Shannon Court today and ordered that the vessel be not released until this morning. Earlier, he noted that the €5.8 million bond seemed disproportionate. If he didn’t have discretion to impose lower bail the case would have to go to a higher court.
Alibi witness
A book of evidence was served and the trial hearing was fixed for Donegal Circuit Court on December 10th. Judge Kilrane told
Mr Plug, who faces three charges, that he has 14 days to inform the prosecution if he is calling an alibi witness.
Diek Parlevliet, director of Parlevliet and Van der Plas, which owns the supertrawler, addressed the court and told Judge Kilrane that the vessel’s detention was costing the company €100,000 a day.
He claimed nobody had seen any fish going into the sea and he had never heard of €5 million or €6 million being asked for a bond before. “I am not happy with €250,000 but at least it’s down,” he said.